Scorned
by borgiabull
Summary: Damned to Hell for his actions in life, Saiyan warrior Raditz is resurrected by mysterious forces. Returning to Earth to find his purpose, Raditz makes new allies, faces old adversaries and struggles to forgive Goku for his perceived betrayal of not only Raditz, but their entire race. All the while, the reasons behind Raditz's revival become all too clear.
1. In Hell

It was in the isolation of a dark, dank cell beneath the desk of King Yemma that he sat for over two decades, the dripping of a leaky pipe above him the only noise besides that of his ragged breath. The decades seemed to Raditz an eternity. The dingy concrete floor beneath him and the surrounding walls his only company, and the blood spattered dents covering each one only served to remind the damned soul of the futility of his resistance. The only escape from the solitude was a miniscule meshed window just above him from which a blinding light poured onto the adjacent corner. It was through this one access to the outside world the Saiyan's spirit was broken.

Following his death at the hands of his brother Kakarot and his ally the Namekian, Raditz was brought before the great King Yemma, the judge of all of the souls arriving in the Otherworld. Damned to Hell for his crimes against the universe, Raditz did the only thing he knew how to do; he fought. Easily subdued by the red giant, Raditz found himself trapped in the infuriated demigod's grasp. Due to his actions, he was placed in a special Hell, just beneath the King's feet. For years Raditz fought against his confines of his room, scratching, punching, and blasting each of the walls in a futile attempt to regain his freedom, but soon, his strikes turned to stillness, his screams to silence.

Utilizing the Ogre King's spiritual connections, Raditz was able to listen in on the major events occurring in his absence as Yemma was informed by his cronies. The invasion of Earth by his comrades, Nappa and Vegeta spurred hope in the low-class warrior. He thought no one able to beat the two Elites, and was certain his own resurrection was all-but guaranteed upon their victory. Unfortunately for Raditz, this was not the case. Nappa soon fell at the hands of the Saiyan Prince, and the prince himself found himself overpowered by a resurrected Kakarot and his half-breed son and was forced to escape. What surprised Raditz the most was not Vegeta's escape, but Kakarot's allowance of this to pass. From what he had gathered, the two invaders had obliterated entire cities of the humans Kakarot so dearly loved, and then killed many of his brother's friends during their epic battle. So why did Kakarot allow Vegeta to live and not himself? Did family mean nothing to him?

The Saiyan's frustration graduated to full-blown rage when it was discovered that it was Frieza who was responsible for the apocalypse of Planet Vegeta, and the near-extinction of the Saiyan race. But after slaughtering the entire Namekian race, his friends, and Prince Vegeta, what does Kakarot do? He offers Frieza of all people a pardon during their battle on the dying planet, after achieving the god-like transformation of Super Saiyan. Even after all Frieza had done to his family, murdering their parents, their culture, their legacy, Kakarot allows Frieza the chance to walk away. It was a treason that shook the warrior to the very core of his being. While Raditz would've never claimed to be a good person, he wasn't a monster like Frieza…was he?

Caught in the battle of his wounded heart, Raditz withdrew into the corner furthest from the window. It was there he sat with his elbow resting on his knee, no longer able or willing to hear further news of his brother's heroic escapades. To Kakarot he was nothing, to Vegeta and Nappa, he was weak, to Frieza he was expendable and to his father he was a disappointment. It was then and there Raditz realized that maybe they were right all along. Tears fell from his eyes onto the chest plate of his armor, running along the white grooves before finally landing on the floor. The once proud warrior was finally broken.


	2. A Beating Heart

Suddenly there was light. Waves of golden light radiated around the Saiyan, causing him to jump to his feet. Raditz crouched as he began surveying the cell, his arms held out in a defensive position. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he tried to see through the massive barrage of rays, but it was fruitless. As rapidly as it came, the light dissipated, leaving Raditz in a state of alert. His heart beat quickly; the fear of the unknown intruder sending blood racing to his head. Raditz gasped and placed his hand atop his armored chest, feeling the rhythmic thud of the muscle as it came to life once more. It had been decades since he'd felt such a thing, it was an intense moment. Raditz fiercely shook his head, trying to wake himself in case he was dreaming. He couldn't stand the thought of being tricked by such a stupid delusion. His bangs fell loose from his sharp widow's peak as he jerked his head up to see his hated halo; the constant reminder of his death, of his damnation, of his failures. ..

…but it was gone.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Raditz smiled and started to chuckle. The chuckle quickly evolved into full scale laughter as he realized that he wasn't dreaming; he was alive.

His laughter was quickly silenced as the roof of his cell began to shake violently before disappearing entirely.

"What the-?!" he exclaimed, slamming against the wall in an attempt to regain his balance.

A massive red hand reached inside the cell, scooping up the Saiyan's legs in its mighty grip and began pulling him into what seemed like a white void of emptiness. Raditz struggled against it, but it was a fruitless endeavor. The edges of his shoulder pads scraped the walls, causing orange sparks to rain down the sides of the cell as he attempted to wretch himself free. Raditz tried desperately to grab hold of something, of anything, but was unable to find purchase. As the floor grew further and further away, he gasped as he was pulled into the void.

His eyes adjusting to the sudden surplus of brightness, Raditz was greeted by the colossal upside-down face of King Yemma, who appeared to be inspecting him. The massive red giant was leaned over the side of his chair, the purple material which comprised his tightly fitting suit jacket strained against the King's gigantic frame. Raditz frowned deeply as the giant began muttering to himself while looking him over repeatedly. Raditz swayed slightly, still upside-down in his grasp, his long untamed onyx hair and brown-furred tail dangled beneath him.

"It's just as I thought, the Saiyan's been resurrected," he said, to no one in particular.

" _Excuse me_ , red man, but 'the Saiyan' is beginning to get vertigo over here!" Raditz growled.

"Oh."

King Yemma sat up straight in his chair and plopped Raditz onto the massive mahogany desk in front of him. Raditz stood up slowly, confused at the course of events. He wrapped his tail around his waist and dusted off the bottom blades of his armor, taking careful consideration to adjust the red band on his thigh. He peered off of the side of the desk and scoffed. Beneath them, several of the Ogre King's compatriots struggled with the massive golden tile that had housed the Saiyan for so many years.

Crossing his arms, Raditz looked up at King Yemma, who had since picked up a large magnifying glass and resumed his study of the warrior. Raditz sighed and glared at the King. While the thought of pummeling the giant had crossed his mind, he quickly set aside such notions, after all, it was such actions that landed him in the solitary hellhole to begin with.

"What's going on?" Raditz asked, hoping Yemma had some sort of answer.

"I don't know…it's strange…"

"Could you possibly be more vague? Honestly!" Raditz barked, his patience beginning to wear thin.

"I'm trying to figure it out!" Yemma yelled, slamming his arms on the desk, causing Raditz to lose his footing. Raditz stumbled back onto a large green placemat and caught himself on a massive paper tray.

King Yemma adjusted his horned hat and huffed. "I'm just as confused as you right now, just give me a moment to make a call and we'll get this all sorted out."

Raditz nodded, leaning against the tray as Yemma picked up the receiver on the phone on his desk. Raditz gawked at the size, it was as large as himself.

After a short conversation, King Yemma hung up his phone and sighed. "It's as I feared."

"What?"

"No one is sure why you've been brought back to life, Raditz."

"Big surprise there."

"The only thing I know to do is send you to see King Kai, he may be able to find some kind of answer for you."

"Whatever," Raditz grunted as he leapt from the desk and descended onto the floor.

King Yemma smirked as he pointed towards the large exit beneath his desk. "You must take Snake Way in order to reach King Kai's planet…but remember this, if you fall from the path you'll be trapped in Hell once more…and I doubt you'll have the same stroke of dumb luck twice."

Raditz gritted his teeth, but said nothing. He left King Yemma's Check-In Station and began walking the route leading to Snake Way. As he journeyed the purple pathway, he found himself in awe of the enormous expansion of golden clouds that made up the majority of the realm. In a way, they reminded him of the ridiculous cloud that his brother had ridden into battle on during their conflict. This memory caused Raditz to flinch; it reminded him of darker times, it reminded him of his brother's betrayal. Utilizing his anger, Raditz levitated off of the pathway and shot off like a bullet into the fuchsia sky. Shortly thereafter, he cleared the great stone head of the snake which marked the starting point of Snake Way and barreled onwards.

He flew for hours, fueled by his anger. The nagging thoughts born during his time in his cell continued to gradually creep back into his head. Was he nothing but a mere weakling? Was he just a stepping stone on Kakarot's road to glory? Was he nothing but a monster? "No!" He screamed aloud, furious at the very notion. They were both sons of Bardock, they were both Saiyans. He didn't care what kind of training he'd have to endure, he didn't care if Kakarot was a Super Saiyan, or a god. He would prove to him that he was just as good, he'd prove that he was not worthless.

As Raditz soared past Princess Snake's palace, he grew more fatigued, but he refused to slow his pace. His eyes burned with passion, ignited by his Saiyan pride. Before long, Raditz blew past the tail of Snake Way as he finally succumbed to his exhaustion. His last reserves of energy depleted, he found himself swiftly plummeting towards the planet below…


	3. Confronting Kakarot

King Kai smiled, having almost completed a massive pyramid of playing cards, the squat ruler of the Northern Galaxy felt an incredible sense of accomplishment. Bubbles and Gregory looked onward in awe as the Kai cautiously floated up to place the final two cards on the top. Beads of sweat began saturating his blue forehead as he leaned the two cards into place, then backed away carefully.

"See guys? I told you I could-"

Before King Kai could finish his sentence, a massive force smashed to the planet's surface, the impact of which created a large crater, sending playing cards, dust and debris in every direction. Bubbles and Gregory quickly retreated back to King Kai's house, leaving the deity to deal with the problem on his own.

"Damn it!" King Kai shouted. "I just got this freaking planet back together!"

King Kai continued groveling to himself as he ran over to the edge of the impact area and cautiously peered over the edge, wafting the dust away from the area of impact so that he see whatever calamity had befallen his unfortunate planet this time. As soon as he saw the hole's occupant, he wished he hadn't.

"Is that who I think it is?" King Kai slid into the crater. Gripping onto one of Raditz's pauldrons, he flipped the Saiyan over, revealing his bloodied face.

"Crap."

Using telekinesis, King Kai lifted Raditz from the crater and laid him onto the grassy floor which made up the majority of the small planetoid.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked, prodding the Saiyan's side several times with the point of his foot. Raditz however remained unresponsive.

King Kai frowned. Appariting a massive hammer, he swiftly bonked Raditz's head, causing the Saiyan to stir.

"Huh?" Raditz replied groggily. He opened his eyes to see the Kai's massive blue head staring down at him, only inches away from his face. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, momentarily startled. Jerking up, Raditz leapt backwards putting some distance between himself and the Kai.

"Oh good, you're alive," King Kai said, less than enthused. "Now why are you here?"

Shaking the rubble from his hair, Raditz smirked. "You tell me, Kai."

A sudden gleam shone on the King's dark glasses. "First off, it's _King_ Kai. Show a little respect, Saiyan. Secondly, I'm not the one crashing into your planet, so don't get smart with me!"

Raditz cocked an eyebrow. "Well then, the little blue man has some spunk. You want the truth, _King_?"

"Well, it'd be nice. Last I heard you had booked a one-way ticket to hell after attacking the Earth. Needless to say, I'm a little confused."

"Fair point, I'll give you that," Raditz replied, looking down off into the golden clouds. "You see, no one's really sure why I'm alive again. Not King Yemma, not his higher ups, nobody. I certainly haven't got a clue, being in Yemma's special solitary hell and all, so the glorified secretary sent me here to you so that you might conjure up some sort of explanation."

"I see," King Kai scratched his chin as he pondered. "Well, if it wasn't a Kai that brought you back, then maybe it was the dragon balls."

Raditz shrugged. "Beats me."

"Look, if you promise not to cause any trouble, you can go sit by the house while I try to figure this out. Just try not to break anything else."

Raditz scoffed as he turned and began walking away from the King. "You're lucky I need you," he muttered.

"I heard that!" King Kai yelled back at him. After wiping off his glasses with his shirt tail, his antennae began to wiggle as he started contacting various people on Earth. Meanwhile, Raditz peered into King Kai's house through the window, his stomach gurgling loudly.

Midway through King Kai's conversation, he heard Raditz call out to him from his house. "Hey King Blueberry, mind if I eat your monkey? I'm starving. A single arm would be sufficient."

" _No!_ Leave Bubbles alone, I'll make you something to eat in a second!" King Kai shouted back.

"Whatever," Raditz grumbled, somewhat disappointed. He walked out of the house and began exploring the tiny planet, leaving the terrified monkey to sigh in relief.

"Please just get here as soon as you can," King Kai whispered, ending the call as Raditz returned from his very short exploratory expedition.

"So, what's the news?" Raditz asked, crossing his arms.

King Kai scratched his head. "Well, I'm still working on it. Goku's going to be coming soon to help us-"

"What?!" Raditz shouted angrily. "Don't bring him here!"

King Kai gulped and pointed as Goku materialized behind Raditz. "Uh, too late…"

The mood quickly shifted as Raditz turned around, scowling as he laid eyes on his brother for the first time since his death.

"Kakarot, how nice of you to join us," Raditz muttered behind gritted teeth.

Goku frowned, ill feelings towards his brother still evident. "What are you doing here, Raditz?" he asked, his voice antagonistic.

"Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Raditz replied grumpily.

King Kai moved in-between the two brothers, interjecting himself into the conversation in an attempt to ease the tension. "It's very strange; no one knows how this has happened, Goku. Is it possible that someone has used the dragon balls to revive him?"

Goku shook his head, his voice still carrying a serious tone. "No, King Kai. It hasn't been that long since they were used to bring back Frieza. They're still inactive."

King Kai nodded solemnly. "The Guardian of New Namek said the same thing about their dragon balls as well."

Raditz rolled his eyes and began walking away from the others, "Pfft, figures."

"What is your deal?!" Goku yelled, already tired of his brother's attitude.

Raditz stopped, his fists clenched to the point that they were shaking uncontrollably.

"My deal? You want to know my goddamned deal, Kakarot?!" Raditz turned to face his brother, his eyes wild with fury and emotion. "Do you remember Frieza? You know, the one who destroyed our home world?! The one who slaughtered your friends and exterminated nearly every Namekian _before_ turning their planet into space dust? The one who almost destroyed your precious Earth on more than one occasion?"

Goku nodded slowly. "Yeah, what about him?"

"You were on the brink of killing him, twice, and both times you gave him the chance to escape, the chance to live, did you not?"

"Well I…"

"What about Prince Vegeta? You couldn't have forgotten about your new bestie so easily. You let him live-after everything he did your allies and your Earth, you spared his life."

Goku sighed. "What's your point, Raditz?"

"My point is, is what I did to you nearly as bad as the crimes they've committed against the universe?"

"You took my son and tried forcing me into killing one hundred people!" Goku yelled, exasperated.

"Yes I did, and I'm not proud of that…but I was under Vegeta's orders to do so! He wanted you back in the fold, and I was the delivery boy. Do you really think I had a choice?!"

"There's always a choice, Raditz!"

Raditz's eyes began to tear up. "Not for me, Kakarot. I needed you. If I didn't convince you, or kill you, I would've been killed by Vegeta; he told me as much. Did I go too far by taking the boy? Yes. I admit that…but I was desperate. I was the weakest to survive Frieza's Saiyan holocaust, next to you. Hell, I was one of the weakest in the Galactic Armada, but I knew if I could find you, we could protect one another, like real brothers. We could've grown stronger together and honored the memory of our father. But when you said no, when you sided against me, it was the ultimate betrayal. I mean, you look just like him, and you act just like our mother…it felt like I had failed them by extension."

Goku said nothing, his eyes focused on the ground.

Raditz gritted his teeth, focusing all of his emotions on Goku. "I had accepted my fate when you and the Namekian killed me, I had made my choice by siding with Vegeta and Nappa instead of you. But, when you forgave Vegeta, allowed Frieza the chance to escape, spared the Ginyu Force, healed Cell and saved Majin Buu, I felt like garbage. These murderers, you'll pardon…but your own brother, your only remaining blood relation wasn't worthy of such forgiveness."

"You weren't going to stop, Raditz. I had no choice!"

Raditz smiled sadly. "I thought that there was always a choice."

Goku said nothing. In his heart, he knew why he'd hated Raditz so much. Ever since he had arrived on Earth, Raditz had been the representation of everything Goku sought to never become, a reminder of his heritage. To Goku, the moniker of Saiyan had been the scarlet letter. A permanent stain on his soul. As time passed, Goku slowly learned to accept this alien part of himself. Time spent with Vegeta over the years had certainly aided in that feat. He recalled Vegeta's dying words on Namek; it was there in that moment Goku realized that just because he was a Saiyan, he wasn't doomed to repeat his race's evils. Seeing his brother in a whole new light, Goku began questioning his resolve. Could he forgive Raditz?

Goku exhaled heavily. "Raditz, I'm sorry. At that point, you were just a threat, and I had to stop you. But I've learned through my experiences that everyone deserves a second chance. To be honest, you're not really a threat to Earth anymore," Goku held up a finger. "I'll give you this one opportunity. If you truly wish to be my brother, come with me to Earth and live peacefully. If we're anything at all alike, you'll grow to understand my love for its inhabitants, maybe even grow to care for them yourself. But I'm warning you, if you cause any trouble for the citizens of Earth, I'll have no choice but to stop you…understand?"

Raditz's eyes widened. He hadn't expected this reaction from his brother, a man he'd built up to be nothing but scum during his time in Yemma's cell. Though he cared little for returning to Earth, the Planet Trade Organization and the planets formerly underneath their banner were likely in shambles, not that he'd return to a Frieza-allied planet were it still stable. He closed his eyes and frowned deeply as he suddenly realized he had nowhere else to go.

"Fine," Raditz replied somberly, almost as if he were in a daze. "I'll accept your offer."

Goku nodded, his stone face hiding his true feelings of relief at Raditz's acceptance of his offer. His conscious clear, Goku held out his hand to the Saiyan. Raditz paused, briefly looking over to King Kai, who was watching the scene intently. He said nothing and took Goku's hand.

Goku waved goodbye to King Kai and placed his index and middle finger on his forehead. The two Saiyans vanished from the Kai's planet in an instant, leaving the North Kai to ponder the impact of what just occurred.

"Well, at least no one exploded this time…" King Kai muttered as he began walking back to his house, curious to see how this new predicament would play out, "…well, not yet anyways."


	4. Say Uncle!

As quickly as he could blink, Raditz soon found himself standing on Kami's Lookout. Raditz wrenched his hand free from Goku's grip as he surveyed his surroundings. The floating platform seemed almost otherworldly to the Saiyan; his eyes following the massive marble pillars on the far end of the Lookout up to the pink and gold inlayed roof of the large, multi-storied building which they supported. Shifting his feet, Raditz had forgotten how light he had felt on this planet. He'd always been more accustomed to intense gravity, like that of King Kai's world. A figure walked out of the large structure towards them; Raditz's eyes widened as he noticed it was another Namekian.

"Who's this?" Raditz wondered aloud as he fiddled with one of his black arm bracers.

"That's Dende," Goku replied, waving to the young Namekian. "He's the God of Earth, a guardian who watches over all life on this planet."

Raditz couldn't help but roll his eyes, thinking back to conversations he'd overheard from King Yemma to his underlings. It always seemed that Earth was in some kind of peril that lay dormant, waiting for the perfect opportunity to be unleashed. This 'God' never seemed very aware of a threat until it was almost too late. Raditz glared at the approaching guardian of the Earth, wondering how he could stand being so useless amongst such adept warriors like Kakarot and Vegeta. He also reminded Raditz of Piccolo, which certainly didn't stir pleasant memories in the Saiyan.

"Goku, it's good to see you!" Dende said as he reached the two Saiyans, a wide grin exposing his large canines. His smile faded as he turned his attention to Raditz. The Namekian's eyes focused on his armor, a style of which he hadn't seen since Frieza's invasion of Namek. Dende's eye twitched at the unpleasant memory. "Is he the reason behind all of the commotion in Otherworld?" he asked.

Goku scratched his head. "Yeah," he answered despondently. "This is my older brother Raditz."

Dende gasped. "The same one who began the Saiyan conflict?"

Goku nodded. "Yup."

Raditz smirked. He didn't know why, but he felt a sudden rush of exhilaration causing this 'God' to squirm. It was a sensation he felt was long overdue. He'd let himself get too soft while in Hell. He was still humiliated after exposing his feelings earlier; tearing up in front of Kakarot? It was mortifying. He felt like a shade of his former self, especially after Kakarot had told him he was no longer a threat. Raditz wanted to puke at the very thought of Kakarot lording over him with his power the way he did. He'd have to bide his time, play nice if he ever wanted to make his dear brother eat those words…which was going to be harder than he thought, as the two refused to stop talking about him as though he wasn't standing right there beside them. Dende then turned to the agitated Saiyan, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"So Raditz, what are your plans now that you've returned to Earth?" the Guardian asked, his voice slightly shaky.

Raditz sneered as he put his hands on his hips. "How the hell should I know? I've barely been alive a day." He then began seriously pondering the inquiry. "I'd like to resume training, if Kakarot allows it," he muttered resentfully, an aura of bitterness clinging to every word.

Dende looked to Goku, who grinned giddily.

"Now that's something I can help you with," Goku chirped. "You could be my pupil!"

Raditz looked mortified, his eyes widening. "Your what?!"

"Well, you'd have to do some work on your own first, but after that I'd train you! Nothing like a little one-on-one to help us finally get to know one another."

Raditz started to retort but simply sighed. His stomach began growling once more with the ferocity of a rampant Oozaru. "Ugh."

"Maybe we should continue this conversation over some food…" Goku suggested, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"That's the first thing you've ever said that I actually agree with," Raditz replied bluntly.

After saying his goodbyes, Goku teleported himself and Raditz off of the Lookout and to the foot of the imposing Mount Paozu, the place the younger Saiyan called home. Though separated quite a ways from the local towns and cities, there were several large houses along a paved road which stretched out for miles among a mass of sprawling trees and bushes. In stark contrast to the two main houses, at the very end of the line away from the pavement was a small, humble shack. Built in an ancient fashion, its classical architectural style caused it to stand out against the two dome-shaped domiciles. Raditz continued staring at the small shack; for whatever reason, he was captivated by its modesty.

"Kakarot, what's in the smaller building over there?" He asked, curious.

Goku looked at his shoulder at the shack, smiling at the memories. "It was Grandpa Gohan's house. He's the one who found and raised me when I arrived on Earth."

Raditz grimaced, now realizing that it was in that very house that his brother was corrupted, and decided he no longer cared for it.

As they arrived at the entrance of Goku's home, he held out his arm, stopping Raditz in his tracks.

"I'm going to need you to be civil here, brother," Goku said, his voice suddenly quite serious. "My wife Chi-Chi is probably not going to be happy that you're here…come to think of it, neither will Gohan…"

Raditz smirked. "Well, that's a shame isn't it?"

Goku frowned. "I'm just saying, I warned you."

Raditz huffed in indifference as Goku opened the door and led Raditz into the pale white dwelling.

"Chi-Chi, I'm home! I've brought over a guest!" Goku called out as he closed the door behind Raditz.

Chi-Chi walked into the room, a large smile on her face. "Oh, hi honey," she said, hugging Goku. "Who's your friend?"

"This is my brother, Raditz."

"Oh, hello, Raditz-" Chi-Chi stopped. Her face grew dark. "Wait, is this the same brother who caused you to end up being killed?" She asked, her eyes obscured by her jet black hair.

"Uh, yeah…" Goku replied, looking back at Raditz, looking more worried by the second.

"The same brother who caused my precious Gohan to be kidnapped by Piccolo for a whole year?" she asked, her teeth grinding together.

"Wait, what?" Raditz asked.

Goku nodded, now very uneasy.

"Oh, okay. I'll be right back." Chi-Chi turned around and went into the kitchen.

"Well, that could've gone worse," Goku stammered.

Chi-Chi returned to the room, an unbelievably large skillet in hand.

"Mind if I show you something, Raditz?"

Raditz gulped. "Um, sure…"

"'Kay." Chi-Chi replied, now grinning madly.

Raditz was sent crashing through the side of his brother's house and into the ground at an incredible velocity. Skidding across the grass, the Saiyan crashed through the trunk of a tree and through a dividing hedge before finally coming to a stop, lying motionless in the rubble left in his wake.

"Of course the oaf marries a tiger mother," he said to himself. "Why am I not surprised?!"

He groaned as he slowly sat up, brushing the fragments of wood and dirt from his chest plate.

The commotion outside of his household caused Gohan to erupt from his own home, which was the pale-yellow home directly beside Goku and Chi-Chi's place, just beyond the large dividing hedge-gate. The half-Saiyan gasped when he saw his murderous uncle lying just feet from his doorstep.

"Raditz?!" he gasped, striking a defensive position. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Raditz paused for a moment, but couldn't help but erupt into cruel laughter upon seeing Gohan, who had went an entirely different direction than the warrior would've expected from such a powerful child. His thick black glasses and green sweat suit made the former Z-Warrior look more like an odd gym teacher/librarian hybrid than a Saiyan descendent.

"Good to see you too, nephew." He grimaced as he stood, but maintained a smirk. "It's been a while. Tell me, have you come to see my library card or my hall pass?"

Gohan scowled, vividly remembering the day his uncle arrived on Earth all those years ago-the day his life changed forever. He clinched his fists and was preparing to end this threat before it began when he looked up, seeing his father floating towards them.

"Dad!" Gohan called out. "What's he doing here?"

Goku landed next to Raditz, peering at the large lump forming on his brother's head.

"Hi Gohan! It's actually kind of a long story," Goku explained as he patted Gohan on the shoulder, attempting to calm his son as he proceeded to fill him in on Raditz's predicament.

Gohan's expression changed as he listened to Goku's recounting of events. "So no one knows why he's returned, huh?" He looked over to Raditz, who'd begun frowning. "Well, I don't want him near my daughter, threat or not. He's not welcome here."

Raditz looked away from his nephew, embarrassed. It wasn't that long ago he'd been prepared to kill both Kakarot and his little brat, why did he suddenly care what they thought of him? He didn't understand.

Raditz was growing tired of these mixed feelings he continued experiencing, of caring what these Earthlings thought of him, or regretting his past actions. He'd had enough and he needed to separate himself from the whole situation. At this point he didn't care about finding out who the hell had brought him back, he only sought a place where he could collect his thoughts, and being with Kakarot was only confusing him even more.

As Goku and Gohan continued their back and forth on the issue of the Saiyan remaining, Raditz was forced to interject.

"Kakarot, that's enough!" he barked.

The two silenced their arguments and turned to Raditz, somewhat surprised by his sudden outburst.

Raditz crossed his arms. "As much as I've enjoyed this little reunion, there's no way I'm staying here in the middle of all this mess. While I…appreciate…your attempts to put the past behind us, I-I need some time to think."

Before Goku could retort, Raditz blasted off into the sky, quickly fleeing the confounding situation. Soaring far from Goku and his family, Raditz flew aimlessly for hours, attempting to gather his thoughts. Seeking isolation and sustenance, he spotted an immense forest, perfectly suited for fulfilling his desires. Descending into the thick covering of green, Raditz quickly reached the leaf-covered floor and surveyed the area. The lush green woodlands appeared virtually untouched by humanity; its every corner bustling with the songs of various birds and the movement of wildlife. Almost immediately he encountered a deer, but instead of running from the stranger, it approached him, looking somewhat curious. Raditz found it slightly odd, but didn't think question his good fortune.

"Finally, something's going my way," he muttered, holding out his hand to the four-legged fawn. "Now, keep your eye on the birdie…"

A bright flash of pink energy engulfed the area, sending the birds scattering throughout the forest canopy. Unbeknownst to the Saiyan, it also alerted the forest's protector to the presence of an intruder…


	5. Birds of a Feather

Under the cover of the dense canopy of trees, the Saiyan sat in front of the still smoldering deer carcass, blood covering his jaw as he devoured fistfuls of meat. Tearing off a leg, Raditz began to bite into another chunk when he suddenly paused. Something felt…weird, as if he were being watched. He looked around, carefully scanning the tree line for movement; Raditz saw nothing and scoffed.

"I need to relax," he grumbled before he resumed gnawing on the deer leg. Little did Raditz know he was more correct than he'd realized. High in the tallest tree of the area, a mysterious figure stood overhead, irked by the unwelcome guest. His long, silky black hair and orange bandanna wafted gently in the slight breeze as his icy cobalt blue eyes peered at the intruder. He didn't look like the typical poacher the park ranger had to deal with, but it made little difference to him. Tightening the bandanna around his neck, he grinned as he leapt from his perch, descending silently behind the pilfering Saiyan.

"Yo," Android 17 greeted, cocking his rifle for dramatic effect.

Startled, Raditz tossed the leg bone to the ground and leapt up; quickly swinging around to face the threat.

"You're intruding on the grounds of the Royal Nature Park, you've got two options: walk away now, or I'll make sure you never walk again." A cruel smile came over the cyborg's face.

Raditz eyed the rifle, recalling his first encounter with the inhabitants of Earth. Despite having no scouter, he figured this Earth-dog couldn't have that high of a power level due to his brandishing of a measly projectile weapon.

"Oh, I'd just love to see you try." Raditz grinned.

"Don't say I didn't warn you…" 17 laughed as he took aim, firing off 3 shots in rapid succession.

Though peaceful since his own resurrection following the horrors of the Cell Games, 17 took no pity on poachers seeking to fatten their wallets by driving an endangered species ever closer to extinction. Though not a 'nature fanatic' like many in his line of work, 17 was inspired to take the job in part by his fallen friend, Android 16, who'd demonstrated a love for the creatures on this planet rivaling that of Goku himself. Though he'd never admit it, those same feelings had rubbed off on him as well.

Raditz quickly caught the projectiles, jiggling the lead rounds in his hand.

"Perhaps it is you who should _walk away_ ," he scowled. "You've got no chance against a Saiyan."

Android 17 raised an eyebrow. "A Saiyan, huh?"

He studied the intruder momentarily, noticing he looked a lot like Goku and Vegeta, not to mention he was wearing the classic variant of Saiyan armor. His eyes began flashing pink as he accessed his internal database for the first time in what felt like an eternity. As he scoured through Dr. Gero's files, he was able to match the name to the face. It was Goku's brother!

"Raditz, huh?"

Raditz stepped back, shocked. "How the hell do you know who I am?"

17 tossed his rifle to the ground. "I was programmed by the late Dr. Gero to hunt down and kill your brother, Goku. The old man accrued a wealth of files on the many 'visitors' Earth had during the period, including Vegeta and Nappa. Much of the data was stupendously inaccurate, but compiled never the less."

Raditz's eyes widened, "Wait, you're one those Android things?!"

"The technical term is cyborg, but yes I am, now leave this place before I make you."

Raditz gritted his teeth as anger surged through him. Was he the weakest creature on this planet now?! He'd heard King Yemma talk of the dangerous duo of androids that threatened Kakarot and his friends. His heart raced as he felt a twinge of fear ping in the back of his mind, and with it, shame.

"No," Raditz whispered, "I don't care if you're stronger than me, I will not bow to you fools any longer!"

17 cocked an eyebrow. "Huh?"

Raditz howled as he began charging his energy; a flurry of red ki suddenly surrounding him.

"Suck on this, tin man!" he screamed before unleashing his attack. "Have a _Double Sunday_!"

Raditz hurled two massive beams from each hand at the cyborg, causing him to scramble. 17 quickly kicked one of the attacks away from the forest, causing it to explode harmlessly mid-air; the only damage done was a scuff on his blue tennis shoe. However, the second beam had him trapped. He hadn't enough time to raise his energy barrier, and f he avoided it, the forest below would be devastated.

"Damn it!" 17 yelled as he crossed his arms, preparing to absorb the brunt of the blast.

The attack hit dead on, scorching the arms of his trench coat and sent him reeling; smoke rising from his body as the cyborg became infuriated.

"You'll pay for that!" 17 yelled before firing off a volley of his own.

Raditz was stunned by the quickness of the blasts. Though he dodged several, one caught him dead center in the stomach, shattering his armor and causing him to become momentarily stunned. The remainder of the blasts slammed hard into his back, singeing off the majority of the hair beneath his shoulders and further ruining his armor.

"Impossible!" Raditz screamed as he hurled back to the forest floor, blood pouring from his mouth.

17 burst forward, calculating exactly where he would land and kicked the Saiyan with all of his might in the chest, sending him rocketing away from the nature preserve and into a nearby field. Raditz crashed into a massive boulder and lay motionless, his every limb aching. Wiping the blood from his eyes, Raditz saw the cyborg walking towards him, stalking his kill.

Rising to a knee, Raditz spit out a mouthful of blood and grinned. "Looks like your son is getting his wish, brother…"

Despite his wounds, Raditz found the strength to stand one more time; fueled by his pride, he refused to die laying down again. "Go ahead, tin man and send me back to hell! Tell Kakarot not to wait up for me!" he screamed, readying himself for the killing blow.

17 pushed up his sleeve and slowly extended his index finger, preparing to grant the Saiyan's request before halting. He was unsure if he was doing the right thing by killing Raditz. Was he a danger to the Earth anymore?

"Why are you even here?" 17 asked, confounded. "Are you trying to conquer the Earth again, or is blowing up a deer all you've got left to make yourself feel like you're worth a damn?!"

Raditz gripped his stomach, a trail of blood ran from his mouth to his shattered chest plate. "No, what's the point?! I'm nothing anymore! Kakarot brought me back to this stupid planet because he pitied me." His eyes flashed with a resurgence of hate. "I'm nothing compared to him, or you for that matter. It's absolutely pointless for this charade to continue! I'm just a pathetic weakling who doesn't deserve to live…SO JUST KILL ME GODDAMNIT!" Raditz slammed his arms into the ground in front of him, causing to craters to form at the points of impact.

Android 17 frowned. "So, it was Goku who brought you here? He must have seen something in you for him to do that…I think…" He took off his blackened trench coat and tossed it on the ground. "I've been where you are, Raditz. I understand how you feel."

"Tch, how?" the bloody Saiyan asked.

"My sister and I weren't always like this, you know. We were just regular kids, before Gero. He kidnapped us and performed all sorts of horrible experiments on our frail bodies before turning us into these cyborgs. We became non-persons, just tools to be used to achieve his twisted revenge on Goku. I failed to protect her then, even though I tried, he took us both. Same goes with Cell, I couldn't defeat him, and ended up absorbed, my power doubling his own…my energy gave him the power to find her and absorb her as well. With the both of us powering him, he killed many people, including several of the Z fighters and my best friend. It took your brother sacrificing himself to save this planet from destruction, and your nephew to finish the bitch off."

Raditz sneered, hiding his true emotions. "So what?"

17 grinned sadly, recognizing it. "After we were brought back to life with the dragon balls, my sister returned to me. We regrouped and hid out in an abandoned house in the suburbs, but it wasn't the same. She'd fallen in love with one of Goku's friends and longed to be with him, so she left me, and I felt betrayed. We'd been together through everything, our childhoods, Gero, Cell, but what finally came between us was a human. It hurt, a lot. After they had a kid, I left their little group and started working here, as far from them as I could get. I met someone special, and ended up married with kids of my own. Now I can see how wrong I was, but I'm still too proud to tell her as much, I can't manage to show her how I've changed; how sorry I am…"

Raditz looked away as he collapsed back to one knee, he said nothing, but he felt it deep in his heart. He had been wrong.

Android 17 put his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans. "What are you thinking right now?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

Raditz paused, not wanting to appear weak. "Suppose what you said was true. What if someone had gone too far, what if they couldn't be forgiven?"

"Then you have to earn it. Don't expect it to happen overnight, just show them you're different. I know you Saiyans, you have your pride, but you don't have to shame yourself in the process, you just have to try. You'll regret it for the rest of your existence if you don't."

Raditz chuckled to himself. "You sound like my mother…"

17 scoffed, crossing his arms. "Gee, thanks."

"It wasn't an insult. She was the only person who I ever felt love from…my father was my idol, he was strong, unwavering, but also cold. I was always too weak to make him proud of me, I could never match up to my fellow warriors. But my mother helped me get back up whenever I thought I couldn't. Soon, I grew strong, no Saiyan elite, but strong enough to be put on Prince Vegeta's crew. I never told her how much she'd actually helped me, I never got the chance. My planet was destroyed by Frieza not long afterwards."

17's eyes widened, recalling similar experiences. "That's an awful thing indeed."

Raditz nodded in agreement. "I grew cold after that, Vegeta and I were both raised by Nappa on the fringes of unknown worlds, fighting to overtake their inhabitants in Frieza's name. I had to adapt, to kill or be killed. There wasn't any room in my heart for weakness; for love. I thought it made me stronger, but in reality, it just made me ruthless. Before I died, I almost killed them…my brother and nephew both…and I would've, had I the opportunity."

"Would you now, even if you somehow got the chance?" 17 asked.

Raditz frowned deeply as he paused, searching his soul for answers, the results of which surprised even himself. "No, there's no way I could do that."

17 grinned. "That's what matters, now come on," 17 took Raditz's arm and wrapped it over his shoulder.

Raditz flinched at the movement, his body still ailing from the cyborg's abuse earlier.

"Where are you taking me?" He asked through gritted teeth as they began flying towards a large clearing in the forest.

"My wife and children are visiting my in-laws for the week, so I've got the cabin to myself. I'm going to get you fed and rested."

"Why? Why help me? I don't even know your name!"

"Because everyone deserves a second chance," 17 said, his eyes wincing slightly. That sentence had cut too close to home for the cyborg's liking. "Plus it might keep you from blowing up my damn deer." He couldn't help but smirk at the statement. "My name's 17, by the way."

In all honesty, he saw a lot of himself in the warrior. He had the same misguided notions of pride, the same cruel streak, and similar family matters. Perhaps 17 thought if he could somehow save Raditz, then maybe even he could be saved. He wanted the Saiyan to hear none of that though, it wasn't his concern. The two quickly made it to Android 17's cabin, and after some bathing and bandaging, Raditz lay passed out on 17's fold-out sofa, leaving the cyborg to ponder on the day's events and ramifications.


	6. Shades of Yesterday

_Raditz looked up at the star-filled sky in silent awe, admiring the many various stars and constellations that hung overhead. As he shut the heavy metal door to his pod, he smiled as he heard the all too familiar sound of the pod door sealing. Climbing up from the crater, Raditz surveyed the barren landscape, somewhat surprised at the desolation that surrounded him. The strong gusts of wind that caused the blueish soil to rise from its resting place were the only movements on the strange world. Raditz placed his scouter over his ear and tightened it until it was secure. The green translucent eyepiece suddenly came alive; flashes of yellow characters and numbers poured across the screen. Pressing the button on the device's side, Raditz scanned the area, revealing two lifeforms on the planet with him._

 _"Only two life forms? Has someone already cleared this planet?" Raditz pondered as he leapt into the air and began his pursuit of the significant power. As he flew, the planet seemed to change dramatically. The sky became blood red as two suns suddenly appeared in the distance, revealing a sandy brown soil and craggy pillars dotting the landscape. Raditz looked around in confusion as he suddenly felt heavier, having to adjust his flight path due to the sudden increase in gravity. As he came upon a lone cluster of domed white structures in the middle of the desolation, a sudden feeling of Déjà vu overcame him. The arrow of his scouter directed him to enter the complex, but he hesitated. He'd been here before, he knew it. As he cautiously lowered himself to the access port near the building's pod bay doors, it hit him._

 _"Is this Planet Vegeta?" he wondered, astounded. "But, how?!" Raditz rushed into the building, now desperate for answers. He ran through the many halls and corridors, navigating the path unaided by his scouter. He had no need for it now, he'd walked these halls hundreds of times; they were the way home. Raditz's scouter confirmed his suspicions as he stood outside the rusty white apartment door as it chirped; the two circles changed into outlines and power levels began scrolling beside them. Raditz pulled the scouter off of his ear and pressed the worn red entry button to the right of the door._

 _He gulped as the door opened, hissing as it retracted into the surrounding walls. Raditz entered the pitch black room and flicked on the light sensor, his hand knowing exactly where to find the switch despite the darkness. The Spartan accommodations only served to fuel his memories as he ran his hand across the dusty couch; the only furniture in the room aside from a lamp and viewing screen. A loud clang in the opposing room brought him back to the moment at hand. He made his way into the kitchen and froze, dropping his scouter onto the floor, his mouth hung agape as he finally found his targets. A messy-haired muscular Saiyan man in black and green trimmed armor sat in the corner of the room, his scarred face resting in his hands. In the middle of the room behind a large counter stood a short, shaggy haired Saiyan woman in black and gold armor wielding a large butcher's knife._

 _"Mom? Dad?" he gasped._

 _Bardock and Gine looked up at their son and smiled._

 _Gine slammed the knife into the counter and hopped over it and took Raditz into her arms._

 _"Raditz!" she exclaimed, embracing her son._

 _Raditz stood stunned for a moment before returning the hug, a smile creeping onto his face._

 _"Mom, it's…it's good to see you," he whispered, holding her tightly._

 _Gine pulled back and grabbed his face with her gloved hands. "Wow, you've gotten tall!" she goaded. "Someone's been eating their Arlian stew!"_

 _Bardock rose from his seat and placed his strong hand on Raditz's bronze pauldron. "You've grown strong, son. It appears your time with Vegeta and Nappa has finally paid off." He smirked._

 _"How is this possible?" Raditz asked, his curiosity getting the better of him._

 _Bardock and Gine looked at one another, appearing confused by the question._

 _"It doesn't matter, son, what matters is that you're here."_

 _Raditz nodded, holding back his elation._

 _Bardock wrapped his arms around Gine and Raditz as he smiled. "Just do something for us, okay?"_

 _"Anything, Dad," Raditz replied eagerly._

 _Bardock's eyes suddenly began shining red. "You've got to…kill Goku…can you do that for us, Raditz?"_

 _"Wait, you mean Kakarot?" His eyes widened in shock. "Why would you want me to hurt my own brother?"_

 _Gine's eyes soon flashed as well, her smile turning into a dull expression like Bardock's, as if suddenly possessed._

" _Goku represents the death of your honor. He mocks the memory of your family with his disgrace of his race," Gine replied almost robotically._

 _"His every breath insults us and our memories," they said together as Raditz fearfully pulled away from them, scowling._

 _"You're not my parents-who are you? What sort of trick is this?"_

 _Before he could blink, his was surrounded by a black void. The apparitions of Bardock and Gine had vanished, as well as that of his family home. Soon the cell walls of his Hell erupted all around him, towering upwards at a seemingly infinite pace. Raditz dashed to the nearest of the walls, attempting to beat the jutting pillars, but to no avail. As he slammed his armored fist into the structure, he heard a cold laugh erupt behind him. Raditz spun around to face the source of the disturbance._

 _"What the hell is going on, who's doing this?!" he shouted._

 _A figure seemingly bled in from the wall, his skin was pale grey. Waves of spiky pitch back hair flaked with bits of turquoise stood straight around his pointed ears, aside from the cascade of bangs that obscured the deep violet iris of his eyes. A cruel grin spread across his face as he began to clap his hands together, his prominent canines now exposed as he approached the confused Saiyan._

 _"Well, Raditz, that's the million zenie question, isn't it?" the mysterious figure asked, his smooth voice laced with cynicism. He flipped his blood red cloak over his shoulder, revealing a small golden amulet with a magnificent ruby stone set in the middle, which hung over his skin-tight black suit, embroidered with intricate golden patterns and symbols._

 _"You'll find out soon enough, my proxy," he laughed. "Just enjoy this peace while you can; we'll meet soon enough, then the fun will really begin!"_

 _Raditz gritted his teeth as the figure disappeared, and with his exit, the walls echoed his cackles as the ground began collapsing beneath him. Raditz screamed as he found himself pulled into the black abyss..._

"Hey, wake up!" 17 shouted as he shook the screaming Saiyan's shoulders. "Raditz!"

Raditz's eyes popped open, his screams finally ceasing. He sat up and looked around, disoriented.

"Bad dream?" 17 asked, relieved Raditz had finally awoken.

Raditz nodded fiercely as he rubbed his temples, images from the nightmare still playing in his head.

17 stood up and smirked, relieved Raditz was alright. "At least you _can_ dream."

Raditz suddenly began to shiver. He gripped his blanket and pulled it over his scarred chest. He looked at 17 for the first time since awakening and sneered. The cyborg had his orange bandanna tied around his hairline, pulling his tousled hair manageably behind his head. His only other clothing was a long-sleeved white undershirt, blue boxer-briefs, and his thick fuzzy green socks which were half-hanging off of his feet.

"How can you stand to prance around in that getup, it's freezing in here!"

17 scoffed. "First off, I run hot. Secondly, it's not like you gave me a chance to change, you woke me up with your howling. What was that about, anyways?"

Raditz looked down, his shoulders tensing as he thought about his parents' words. He shook his head. There was no way that those were his parents: they'd never want him to hurt Kakarot, much less call him by his human name. It was nothing more than an illusion, but it had felt so very real. Raditz recounted his nightmare to 17, which even caused the cyborg to question its meaning.

"Do you think the guy is the one responsible for your resurrection?" 17 asked, his hands on his hips.

"It could very well be," Raditz replied. "Either way, I have no choice but to visit the Namekian on the lookout one more time, see if he can make heads or tails of it at all."

"That's a good idea, but you may want to hold off on that for a few more days, you need to finish healing up," 17 replied as he walked to his kitchen and picked up a set of mugs from his dish drainer.

Raditz nodded as he rubbed his chest, "You're probably right, I'm still not back to 100% yet."

17 pulled a large carafe from his coffee maker and began pouring generous amounts of the brown liquid into the ceramic mugs. After stirring in several helpings of sugar and creamer, he walked back into the living room and handed one of the drinks to the Saiyan, who observed the mug curiously.

"Number one daddy?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up and drink it," 17 muttered, his cheeks flushing.

Despite being a loving father and respected Park Ranger, the idea of living such a modest lifestyle still embarrassed him to no end. He wondered if this was how old rock stars felt as they wandered a shopping center looking for diapers for their incontinence after all the years of being in the limelight with throngs of fans throwing themselves at them. 17 imagined it was something like that, minus the loss of bladder control.

"You're welcome, by the way," the cyborg mumbled.

Raditz snickered as he took a large gulp from the mug, downing its contents all at once. His right eye began twitching uncontrollably as he looked back at the mug, perplexed and intrigued.

"Good?" 17 asked, concealing a grin behind his own mug.

The Saiyan's furry tail jutted straight out as he was introduced to the wonders of the coffee bean.

"I'll take that as a yes."

As Raditz came down from his brief caffeine trip, he grew serious. "I'm going to need your help, 17."

"Sure, what's up?" the cyborg replied, more than a little interested in the Saiyan's request.

"I'm going to need a new set of armor before I begin training," he said, "and a scouter as well if you can manage it."

17 rubbed his cheek as he pondered. "We could stop by Capsule Corp. Vegeta's wife runs the company, I'm sure she could accommodate the armor at least."

"Great, then let's go." Raditz went to stand, but wretched in pain; his body still suffering from the fight with 17.

17 gently pushed Raditz back onto the couch.

"Let me handle it, you're clearly not ready to be moving around just yet."

"Damn it, fine," Raditz groveled. He hated the idea of being bedridden, or in this case, 'couchridden'. Frieza's army had spoiled him in that regard; their healing tanks cutting the recovery time for an injured warrior from a few weeks to a few hours.

As 17 went to shower and get ready to leave, Raditz contemplated his dream once more. His parents' voices still ringing in his head, their faces reopening long forgotten wounds. Raditz ran his hand through the remaining locks of his now shoulder-length hair and sighed. He knew something was coming, and whatever it was, it couldn't be good.


	7. A Brief Meeting

As he stood in the seemingly endless line outside Capsule Corporation Headquarters, Android 17 sighed. The timing of the cyborg's visit to the massive yellow domed building was appalling. Dr. Brief, Bulma's father, had just announced the latest innovation to his world renowned Hoi-Poi Capsule technology and with the announcement came legions of reporters, all seeking the 'inside scoop' on the devices, as well as a blurb from the scientist or his equally gifted daughter. For an hour 17 stood in the stationary line before one of the Capsule Corporation's Public Relations Division representatives approached them from the entrance of the sealed building.

The scarred-face man rubbed the back of his head nervously as he requested that the crowd disperse; citing that neither Dr. Brief nor Bulma would be accepting questions or making any further comments at this time. As the mass of humanity around him began moaning in disappointment, 17's patience had reached its peak and he decided to act. After sneaking back to the parking lot, the cyborg leapt high into the air and descended onto the top back porch of the building. Opening the sliding door, 17 quietly maneuvered down to the main floor, hoping to catch the Capsule Corp. representative before he left the area. 17 grinned as he spotted the man in the cheap suit meandering near the locked doors talking on his cell phone.

"It's like some sort of circus has set up shop out there. I don't know how on earth I'm supposed to remain calm with all of them yelling at me at once. They just won't go away! It's driving me nuts!"

17 walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Hold on, I'll-" The man turned around, his expression changing dramatically from annoyance to fear once he laid eyes on 17. "Oh, uh…hi."

17's eyes widened. "Wait, I know you…Yamcha right?"

Yamcha nodded, gulping heavily. "Yeah, that's me." He scratched the back of his spikey black hair, his every impulse screaming to run and find the others.

17 flipped the hair out of his eyes and smirked, slightly enjoying the fact that he was making the ex-bandit uncomfortable.

"Hey, calm down there pal, we're on the same team now. Remember?" 17 chuckled. "Now, I need your help. Where is Bulma Brief?"

Yamcha raised an eyebrow, though he still continued sweating profusely. Though he had gotten on good terms with Android 18 thanks to Krillin's relationship with her, he hadn't seen her brother since the day she and her two android compatriots arrived on Master Roshi's island seeking to kill Goku.

"What do you want with Bulma?" Yamcha asked nervously.

"I need to talk with her about a…personal matter. Tell her it's important," 17 replied.

"Ok, I'll check with her to see if you two can't set up some kind of appointment…"

"You don't seem to get it," 17 stuffed his hands in his pockets as he inched closer to Yamcha, scowling. "I need her, _now_. Tell her it's relating to Son Goku."

"Goku? Is he ok?!" Yamcha asked, growing panicked.

17 sighed, glaring at Yamcha. "Chill, he's fine. But, it's something relating to him that I need her help with. Now, are we going to keep standing here playing 20 questions, or are you going to call her?"

"Fine," Yamcha said, more than a little perturbed. 17 could care less though as he finally pulled out his cell phone once more and began calling Bulma. After relaying the cyborg's message, she said she would see him immediately, and asked Yamcha to escort 17 to her office.

Bulma Brief sat behind a massive onyx desk, her fingers typing away on the keyboard as she prepared an official statement for the public regarding Dr. Brief's new invention. Though her father was the figurehead of the company, Bulma guided the Corporation from behind the scenes, insuring things continued running smoothly. With her son Trunks back in school, she was able to devote the majority of her attention to this new project, which suited her and her husband Vegeta just fine. The Prince of all Saiyans was often away training anyways, especially after the unexpected return of Frieza had pushed the Earth on the brink of destruction once more. After several tentative knocks on the giant oak doors, Bulma huffed and pressed a button on a small white console next to her desktop, buzzing Android 17 in.

She raised her eyebrows as the cyborg made his way into her office. She'd only met him briefly once, following his resurrection post-Cell Games, but he looked exactly like she remembered, down to the shoes. It always perplexed her, why he'd chosen to go off on his own while his only relative joins their little band of friends, but she never gave it too much thought. She couldn't help but smirk slightly at the irony of him even being there, especially after she'd studied his schematics and made a device to deactivate him and 18 permanently. Life was funny sometimes.

"Hey, 17. It's been a long time," Bulma greeted, unsure of exactly what the cyborg's intentions for being there were. When Yamcha had called her, she'd been nervous, no doubt, but if it was about something that could be helpful to Goku, then she needed to address it.

17 smirked. "It has, hasn't it?"

Bulma nodded to Yamcha, signaling for him to make his way out. As the Z-fighter left, he closed the door behind him, leaving the two to talk in private.

"So, what's all this about?" she asked, puzzled.

Android 17 spun the chair in front of him around and sat down. "Well, it's a bit of a tale, so bear with me."

Bulma nodded, giving the cyborg her full attention.

"It all started a few days ago. Goku's brother Raditz was mysteriously resurrected during his little stint in Hell. After travelling to King Kai's planet, he apparently met up with Goku somehow, who then brought him to Earth. Afterwards he took off from an altercation of some kind with Goku's family, blew up a deer, ate said deer, was beaten up by me, and is now recovering on my couch." 17 scratched his nose and raised his eyebrows. "A bit of an info dump, huh?"

"How on earth is Raditz alive? The Dragon Balls are still stone!" Bulma exclaimed, recalling the fear the Saiyan invasion had brought to her and her friends.

"Yeah, I don't know. Nobody does, it's actually getting kind of old," 17 remarked.

"So, is he not evil anymore?" Bulma asked.

"I would guess not. Why else would Goku bring him here?"

Bulma nodded, trusting Goku's instincts. He'd learned his lesson about unjustified pity from Frieza; she was sure he wouldn't make the same mistake with Raditz.

"Wait, I don't mean to be rude by asking this, but why are you helping him? It's not like you have some connection to him or anything."

17 paused for a moment, then grinned. "I guess it's because I see a lot of myself in him."

"How so?" Bulma asked, looking flabbergasted.

"He's Goku's brother, right? The two of them have the same DNA, the same potential outcome. Goku was lucky enough to be sent here and learn about ponies and friendship, while Raditz wasn't given the same chance, he grew up surrounded by violence and death, forced to serve a demented tyrant. Yeah, let's just say I can sympathize with that." 17 stood up, crossing his arms.

Bulma rested her head in her palms. "It's still risky though, even you must see that."

17 sneered. "Was Vegeta any different?"

Bulma raised her eyebrows-she couldn't argue with that. Vegeta had been a monster, but now he was one of Earth's most dedicated defenders. She sighed and threw up her hands in submission.

"Point proven, but you still haven't said what you need from me."

"Raditz needs a new set of armor and a scouter-thing. I figured you to be the most reliable source of such equipment."

"I can have the armor made, no problem, but the only scouter we had was his old one, but it exploded years ago."

17 nodded. "I see. Well, he'll just have to deal with it then. How quickly can you fashion it?"

Bulma stood up and grinned. "It'll only take a second. Here, follow me."

The two walked down several flights of stairs to the Capsule Corp. engineering bay, where Bulma introduced one of their most prized pieces of technology. The large cylindrical machine was around the size of a small truck. The thick sheet of glass containing some lime green fluid stretched out to another section of the complex, gradually shrinking in size as it reached a series of valves which ran along the ceiling. The smooth metallic face comprising the bottom half shined in the many low-hanging florescent light fixtures which covered the large area. Pressing the center of the machine, Bulma caused a large panel to jut away from the outer shell and move to the sides, revealing a keyboard and screen.

"After I studied and replicated Vegeta's armor, I plugged the data into this machine, which can recreate objects we've made before drawing from the database of blueprints we've uploaded in its internal memory. It then compiles supplies we have in-house and recreates them here and now!"

"Why can't it just make a scouter, then?" 17 asked, staring at the floating goop inside the glass.

"I could never find a lens that would operate in a similar way to the original. Kind of funny, considering I rebuilt an android and several spaceships with my dad." She smirked, yet 17 could tell the detail annoyed her quite a lot. "Anyways, all I have to do is input which pieces we need, and presto: a new piece of Saiyan armor!"

After selecting the colors and checking the storage capsules to ensure the required materials were available, Bulma fiddled with the keyboard until the machine roared to life. The green liquid began spinning around at an increasingly fast rate, giving it the appearance of a tornado. The force generated by the device began causing the entire floor to shake vigorously. And in the blink of an eye, it jerked to a stop; steam pouring from the vents above it. Opening another compartment beneath the interface module, Bulma pulled out a white case containing several capsules.

"Here, these ought to do the trick," the blue-haired scientist chirped.

17 took the small case from her and examined it, running his fingers over the embossed Capsule Corp. logo. "Thanks."

"You know, there's going to be a get together at Kame House tomorrow for Marron's 8th birthday. I'm sure your sister would love it if you could come. I know she's had to have missed you," Bulma said, winking.

17 blushed, scratching the back of his head. "Well, Raditz isn't quite strong enough to go out just yet…" he stammered.

"Why don't you just give him a senzu bean?" she asked.

"A what?" he asked, his blank stare only enhancing the fact that he was oblivious to the existence of a magic bean.

Bulma held up a finger to the cyborg and pulled out her cell phone to answer an incoming call. 17 rolled his eyes when he noticed that even the phone had the company logo imprinted on it.

"Oh, for Kami's sake…" he muttered, cocking his head to the side.

Walking away from Bulma, 17 wondered to himself about 18. Would she be happy to see him? He had tried hard to avoid thinking about her over the past 8 years. He winced as the thought tore open old wounds. His thoughts then turned to Krillin. He remembered how unthreatening the short bald warrior had been during their past encounters. What could 18 have possibly seen in him? He had wondered this before, but never from a purely analytical sense; there was always the feeling of betrayal clouding his normally sound mind. While Krillin wasn't very strong, he was certainly brave. Even after they had demonstrated their superior power to the little man, he still stood strong and begged them to spare Goku's life. Hell, he'd helped save their lives by giving them senzu beans after the ordeal…

17's eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered them from the encounter. Accessing his internal files, he found what little information Dr. Gero had managed to scrounge up on the mystical plant. 17 frowned, disappointed that he hadn't thought of them sooner. In a weird way, he felt like he had let Raditz down somehow by proxy. What surprised the cyborg more than the memory lapse was how much the idea of failing the Saiyan mattered to him. He ran his hand through his long jet-black hair, feeling slightly embarrassed by the notion.


	8. A Decent Proposal

_A/N- (6/21/2015) Chapter 7 has been updated with a whole new ending following a slight error on my part. Also, sorry it took longer than usual to post this.  
_

* * *

As 17 pushed open the heavy oak door leading into his cabin, he scoffed at the site that greeted him upon his return. Raditz had somehow managed to hook his ankles over a massive log that served as part of the door-frame for the bathroom and was feverishly doing upside-down crunches. The remaining length of his mane and tail dangled below as the red-faced Saiyan pounded out set after set of the exercise. 17 eyed his heavily bruised chest and back and frowned before finally closing the door behind him.

"You do realize your body should probably heal before you start dangling from my fixtures, right?" 17 muttered as he stretched out on the sofa.

Raditz paused for a moment and crossed his arms. "It's pointless to just lay around all day and do nothing just because you're injured; a warrior must push his body to the limit in order to see results. Plus, I was cold."

17 couldn't help but smirk. "Well then, I guess a Saiyan and his pride are not so easily parted."

"Damn straight." Raditz growled before releasing his grip on the door-frame; he quickly flipped forward before landing feet-first on the hardwood floor below. He snatched a towel he had hung on the brass doorknob behind him and began wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Now, what were you able to find?" he asked as he gingerly patted his abdomen with the cloth; the corner of his mouth twitching slightly at the sudden sharp pain that followed.

"I might've found some things you could use." 17 grinned as he sat up, withdrawing the small white capsule container from his back pocket. He tossed the pack to Raditz, who quickly scooped it from the air. Opening the pack, he eyed the capsules curiously.

"What's this?" he asked, withdrawing a capsule.

"It's encapsulated armor. Press the button on top and toss it onto a clear space on the floor."

Doing so, a large smoke cloud appeared, flowed closely by a loud 'poof'. In the capsule's place was a large olive green container riddled with Capsule Corporation numbers and logos. Raditz knelt down and selected a blinking red icon on the face of the container, causing it to begin whirring. The top suddenly sprang open, revealing the contents to the Saiyan. After sliding into his new armless black jumpsuit, Raditz readjusted the red band on the bicep of his still bare arm and flexed the muscle, ensuring that it was firmly attached then continued to sort through the rest of the gear.

The chest armor inside was much like his previous armor set, only with shoulder straps instead of pauldrons. Raditz ran his hand over the black chest plate and grinned with satisfaction at the quality. Affixed just underneath the white grooves at the bottom of the 'battle jacket' was two bronze-colored blades attached to the right and left sides of the armor. Sliding it on, the armor stretched just enough so that the Saiyan could fit his muscular arms and head through before retracting into a more form-fitting shape. As he wrapped his tail around the waistline of the armor, Raditz couldn't help but smile.

"Not half-bad." He laughed as he continued to dig into the container. He held a set of white gloves and boots aloft in front of him before quickly dropping them to the side, sneering.

17 looked on, amused by the Saiyan barreling through his new gear. Raditz seemed like a child opening presents on Christmas rather than an alien warrior suiting up for training. 17 felt like the familiarity Raditz had with the items may have brought a bit of order to the Saiyan's world, which had gone helter-skelter since his arrival on Earth.

"So, I take it the armor isn't too awful?" 17 asked.

Raditz nodded. "I'm not going to lie, I never expected one of those humans to be able to craft armor this impressively."

"Good. Unfortunately, I had no luck acquiring a scouter, but the armor is supposedly top-notch tech. Are you ready to put it to some use?"

Raditz's brow furrowed as he looked away in shame, it was clear he was still wounded. "Maybe tomorrow, I'm not in the mood right now."

17 grinned mischievously as he withdrew a small brown satchel from his other pocket. He untied the thick leather rope and withdrew a small light-green bean.

"This should do the trick," he said, tossing the bean to Raditz. "You better be thankful, I had to sit through an hour long tea party with a talking cat and a chubby samurai to get them."

Raditz opened his mouth to make a snide comment, but quickly withheld it. After all, the cyborg had gone out of his way to help him quite a lot. Raditz nodded in gratitude and proceeded to ingest the senzu bean. Afterwards, his eyes widened as the mystical power from the senzu bean coursed throughout his body. He felt his strength return, his muscles harden and his power rise. The fight with Android 17 had brought him quite close to death, and with his recovery complete, his power was now doubled thanks to his Saiyan genes.

"This is…overwhelming!" Raditz exclaimed, patting his chest.

17 smirked as he stood up; absent-mindedly stuffing his hands in the back pockets of his jeans. "It's good to see you back up to 100 percent my friend, it really is, but now I'm going to need something from you in return."

Raditz raised an eyebrow, growing edgy regarding the cyborg's intentions. "What do you mean by that?"

17 blushed, looking down at the floor. "My sister is throwing a birthday party for my niece tomorrow on Master Roshi's island and I was asked to go."

"So what?" Raditz asked, crossing his arms.

"It would be embarrassing to go by myself, but Azu and the kids won't be returning until next week…"

Raditz's eyes widened, shocked. "Wait, you want me to go with you?!"

"Well, yeah."

Raditz's face grew serious. "You do realize all of the people attending that party are not exactly my biggest fans, right?"

17 shrugged. "So what? You said you wanted to give the whole 'brother' thing a second shot, didn't you? Making amends with Goku's friends would be a good start for that."

Raditz frowned, feeling unsure. "I don't know…"

17 sneered. "What's your deal, huh? What are you afraid of?"

"I don't want to feel guilty around Kakarot over the past, much less his pathetic brood of humans. All they're going to do is caste their insignificant glares my way, or decide to grow a pair and confront me; knowing my luck they've all increased in strength as well, leaving me with little option but to back down like some sort of bitch!" Raditz shouted.

"Remember what I told you before Raditz, you're going to have to earn your forgiveness. They're not just going to give it to you; same goes for me. We need to face our fears and get the whole situation over with; then we can really move on," 17 grinned, "plus, if it's strength you're so worried about, I've got just the ticket."

"What?" Raditz grumbled.

"Your Saiyan abilities enable you to double your strength following a near-death experience, so you're twice as powerful as before. If we train together for a little bit, you'll grow plenty strong, enough so that Goku's friends won't get any silly notions about confronting you. Keep in mind that neither of us can hold a candle to Goku or Vegeta, so don't get any stupid ideas in your head about hurting any of them."

Raditz smirked. "Fine, you win. In exchange for a sparring partner, I'll go to your little party. Hell, I'll even put on my happy face, but remember this 17, I'll play nice with the Earthlings, but will not be made a mockery of."

17 grinned. "Understood, and Raditz?"

"What?"

"Thanks." 17 then walked into his bedroom and closed the door behind him.

Raditz blushed slightly, feeling embarrassed. Something about the cyborg's approval meant a lot to him, though he'd never admit it to 17. Regardless of that, he was very happy to have such a friend. Raditz paused at the thought. It had been years since he ever felt close enough with anyone to call them 'friend.' Not since Nappa, anyway. He'd never been able to see Vegeta that way. Back then, the prince was heartless, concerned only with growing stronger, not with bonding with someone he considered to be 'low-class trash'.

Though Nappa could be just as cold as Vegeta, there was a nurturing side to the giant bald Saiyan general not often seen by anyone. Raditz recalled feeling frightened when he'd first been selected to be part of Vegeta's crew. He didn't know if Nappa was being sentimental because he missed his own children, or if he just liked Raditz, but he took him away from the group and told him to be strong, that as long as he gave the team his all, he'd be taken care of. After that, there was no more sadness or fear, only pride. He saw Android 17 in a similar light as he saw Nappa then. The cyborg was much stronger than Raditz, a lesson learned from receiving quite a few blows, but despite that he showed the Saiyan mercy. Unlike Kakarot, 17 did so in a way that left his honor intact. For that, Raditz was most certainly grateful.

17 returned to the room, the white sleeves of his undershirt rolled up. "So, you ready to train?"

Raditz grinned and nodded. "Let's do it."

"Good, but before we get started, put this on." 17 tossed the Saiyan an orange bandana similar to the one tied around his own neck.

Raditz stood up and caught the cloth and examined it. "What's this for?" he asked curiously.

"Other people make you wear their symbol when you train with them, but I'm a little more fashionable…I guess I picked that up from 18."

Raditz nodded curtly. He then folded the cloth and tied it around his arm over the red arm band. Raditz would never remove them; his mother had given him his father's old bands after he'd been accepted onto Vegeta's crew. Even underneath his new armless black jumpsuit, he continued wearing his leg band as well. Afterwards, he was led to a massive field by the cyborg. From the looks of it, it had been deserted for some time. The massive cat tails that covered much of the area came up to Raditz's stomach. He sneered at them as they blew gently in the breeze.

"Alright, show me what you've got!" 17 exclaimed.

Raditz gritted his teeth and flew at 17. Screaming, his fist collided directly into 17's cheek, but it only caused the cyborg to turn his head slightly.

"Not bad," he said, grabbing Raditz's wrist. "But you can do better."

17 kicked Raditz in the face, sending him skyrocketing into the clouds. Raditz gasped as he reoriented himself in mid-air, looking around for the illusive cyborg. Soon he felt a strange sensation in his temple, he couldn't explain why but felt the urge to turn around. As he did, he saw an oncoming blast heading right towards him. "Damn it!" he shouted as the blast collided with his chest. Though it still hurt like a bastard, he was surprised to see Bulma's armor was only slightly scuffed. Taking a direct hit like that in his old set would've caused it to shatter to ribbons. Noting the blast's trajectory, Raditz soon spotted 17 and quickly fired a volley of his own.

As the smoke cleared, the cyborg had vanished. Raditz snarled as he flew down to where he had been. Examining the area, Raditz frowned. There was no sign of 17. Without warning, 17 suddenly appeared from behind the cover of the blinding sun. With his fists clinched together, 17 delivered a devastating blow to the back of Raditz's head, slamming him into the ground. Raditz slowly pushed himself up, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He grinned and looked up at 17, a look of determination in his eyes. "Toss me another bean, would you? It's time for round two."

Throughout the rest of the day, the two battled intensely. Because of Raditz's lower power level, each of these skirmishes lasted little over five minutes, and each ended with the Saiyan lying in a bloody heap. However, because of the senzu beans, Raditz recovered immediately and jumped back into the fight. As the two concluded their 50th bout, 17 relented.

"I think that's enough for today, Raditz; we're almost out of senzu beans!" The cyborg laughed as he jingled the cloth bag.

Raditz stood up and rubbed his left shoulder. 17's last attack had nearly blown his arm clean off, but thankfully the mystical plant had caused the limb to regenerate.

"Fine, but tomorrow we should resume training. I've never imagined I could become so powerful!" Raditz relented. "By the way, your stamina is incredible. Is it the enhancements that cause you to have such endurance?"

17 nodded as he knelt down and tied his shoelace. "My sister and I have unlimited reserves of energy because of the physical augmentations."

"That's incredible!" Raditz exclaimed.

17 looked up, his eyes exposing the sadness he felt about the topic. "It is…but the price paid for such gifts is often too much..."

Raditz frowned. "Hey, I didn't mean to drudge up bad memories."

17 stood up and beamed. "You think I'm still upset about all that? The past is the past, Raditz. I couldn't care less. Now come on, it's time to get some food and rest up a bit. We've got a big day tomorrow. "

Raditz smiled slightly as 17 turned away and left for the cabin. The cyborg was more like Raditz than even he knew, the walls he put up to shield himself from his own emotions were certainly as high as Raditz's; maybe that's why they were drawn to one another. Raditz followed behind, still grinning.


	9. Party Animal

As the mid-day sun hung high over the golden sands of the Turtle Hermit's island; Raditz lingered next to the punchbowl in silence. He didn't dare to drink out of it, as he was pretty sure the old man in the sunglasses had spiked it. Raditz sighed heavily; his eyes wandering over to the group of Z-Warriors as they socialized. At least the inevitable drama-heavy portion of the visit was out of the way.

When he and 17 first arrived there was the usual standoff; everyone was glaring, Gohan quickly gathered Krillin, Yamcha, Piccolo and Roshi to his side as he confronted the duo, not realizing they had been invited by Bulma to attend the event. Raditz stood proudly in defiance, no matter the massive power difference between the two sides. Though the island was the very last place in the world he wanted to be at that point, Raditz was there for Android 17; he owed the cyborg as much. Ironically, it was Marron who ended up easing the tension. The oblivious eight-year-old wandered outside following the commotion, and somehow immediately recognized her uncle though she had never seen him before.

"Uncle 17! You actually came!" the blonde haired birthday girl happily exclaimed.

In what seemed like a flash, she had cleared the gawking warriors and leapt into 17's arms. Even though he rarely deviated from his suave demeanor, 17 couldn't help but return the child's excitement at the most unexpected reception. Raditz looked, smiling warmly as the two were introduced. Despite appearing so mellow beforehand, he knew 17 was feeling quite anxious about the visit, much like himself. It was this brief glimpse past the Saiyan's standoffish demeanor that gave Gohan reason to pause in his hatred of his uncle. Since being kidnapped and losing his father during the brothers' first ill-fated encounter all those years ago, Gohan had always viewed Raditz as the catalyst for his family's undoing, and the near-constant threats faced by Earth ever since. Being a logical man, in his head Gohan knew there to be a multitude of reasons behind the events that followed Raditz's arrival and subsequent demise; in his heart however, Raditz symbolized the death of his innocence, as well as the inherent evil that flowed in every Saiyan's blood.

Gohan adjusted his thick black glasses as he observed his uncle impartially for the first time in his life. As quickly as the moment came it passed, and Raditz looked from the happy scene back to the Z-fighters and scowled once more, but it had been long enough to plant the seeds of doubt in the half-Saiyan's mind. It was then he began to ponder the idea that there was more to Raditz than he realized. Gohan wondered what his father would do in this situation and grinned sheepishly at his own ignorance. The situation was already Goku's doing, it was because of him that Raditz once again walked the Earth. Putting aside his reservations, Gohan walked up to his uncle and looked up into his eyes.

"Maybe it's time we try starting over," Gohan said, tentatively extending his hand to Raditz.

Raditz's eyes widened at the most unexpected gesture. Of all the Earth's inhabitants, he expected Kakarot's son to be the last person to extend such a courtesy. For the first time since arriving on the island, Raditz relaxed his fists and exhaled sharply. Though initially tempted to ignore Gohan's olive branch altogether, he quickly pushed aside such thoughts. After all, what purpose would it serve to fight against such a kindness? Raditz, giving in to deeply hidden sentiments, clasped his nephew's hand and nodded curtly. This display of forgiveness caused the atmosphere of the party to shift dramatically. The tension which had been thicker than Saiyan hair eased, and a more relaxed feeling overtook the group. It remained so until the sound of shattered glass caused everyone to look to the white steps of Kame House, where a stunned Android 18 stood, the glass of lemonade previously in her hand now lay in pieces around her feet.

"17…" she whispered as her ice-blue eyes locked onto her twin brother. The screen door slammed behind her as she approached him in a daze, almost as if no one else was around but them. 17 sat Marron down on the beach, gently nudging her towards her father as he returned 18's sorrowful gaze.

"Hey sis," he quietly replied.

As she reached her wayward brother, 18 slammed into his chest, embracing him tightly.

"It's been too long, you asshole," she said, tears now streaming down her pale cheeks.

17 wrapped his arms around her; his own eyes beginning to water. "I know."

"I thought you hated me for what I did, for choosing Krillin."

17 smiled sadly. "Of course not, you dummy. I just…I didn't understand."

"Do you now?" she asked, looking into his eyes for the truth.

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"It better be a recurring theme, jerk. I really missed you."

Using his bandana, 17 wiped her eyes dry and put on his best smirk. "Of course, somebody had to make you have a little fun."

As the siblings began reconciling, Raditz turned to leave, his own issues weighing heavily on his mind. For whatever reason, he couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious figure that haunted him. He'd appeared in Raditz's dreams every night since his revival, each dream more vivid and terrifying than the last. They were constant reminders of the perplexing mystery surrounding his return.

He was moments from taking off, but stopped after feeling a slight tug on his leg. Raditz looked down, and saw the beaming face of Marron staring up at him.

"You're not leaving are you?" she asked, looking disappointed. "We haven't even opened my presents yet."

Raditz rolled his eyes, annoyed by the eight-year-old's guilt trip.

"Uh, no…I was just getting something to drink," he lied.

The girl cocked an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Even wearing a pink frilly dress with a bright yellow duck embroidered in the middle, she still looked intimidating. "Sure you were, Mister. Promise me you'll stay."

Raditz grinned; he liked her spirit. "Sure, kid. I promise."

"Great!" Marron exclaimed, then ran back to the crowd of Z-Warriors.

Raditz went ahead and wandered over to the punchbowl, passing an intoxicated Master Roshi, who was giggling like a mad man as he pocketed a dented silver flask.

"Mmhmm," Raditz muttered as he reached the snack table. Apparently pink was the main theme of the party, as the tablecloth, cups, cookies and punch were all bright pink. The only item on the table that wasn't the emasculating color was the glass punchbowl, and the Saiyan was sure if they could've turned it pink as well, they would've. It was next to this table Raditz stood alone, watching the goings on of the party. With 17 busy repairing his relationship with his sister, Raditz decided to give the cyborg his space. Two young half-Saiyans had since arrived to the party and proceeded to run around in a most annoying fashion. One of the boys looked exactly like Kakarot, only slightly more intelligent. Raditz wondered if he'd ever have any little squirts to annoy him in his old age. He thought back to Peperu, a strong, Saiyan girl he used to fool around with in his youth. He smiled widely as he pondered what the warrior had been up to since their last 'encounter.' She'd bare him a couple of brats he could be proud of. He then felt a deep sadness well back up inside of him, old wounds rapidly torn anew as he remembered his planet's fate. Peperu was dead, along with everyone else he'd ever cared about.

As he contemplated getting shitfaced from the tainted lemonade punch to forget the onslaught of memories, Piccolo walked over; his black eyes trained on the Saiyan.

"Hello, Green Man," Raditz mumbled, quickly putting on his 'game face' once more.

"Raditz, back from the dead. How'd someone like you manage that feat?" Piccolo replied.

"I like to think it was because of my charm."

Piccolo sneered. "Yeah, sure. So, no more plans for conquering Earth?"

"Like it's worth being conquered?" Raditz scoffed. "Besides, that was a mission for Frieza. With that petulant little prick dead, I've retired from space piracy."

"Good to know, I'd hate to have to kill you again." Piccolo grinned cruelly. Though he had become one of Earth's most vigilant heroes over the years, shades of Piccolo's darker side still shone through from time to time.

Raditz smirked. "Yes, that'd be a pity. All of the blood would surely throw off the whole pretty princess theme they've gone for. By the way, have you tried the punch yet?"

* * *

As a drunken Piccolo lay collapsed atop the now demolished snack table yelling incoherently at someone called 'Nail,' Raditz decided it was time to move on. With cookie plate in hand, he sauntered over to 17, who was chatting with Krillin and 18.

"Hey Raditz, enjoying the party?" 17 asked.

Raditz quickly swallowed a mouthful of food before replying. "It's not so terrible I suppose."

18's eyes widened as she looked over at the remains of the snack table. "Is he alright?"

Krillin rubbed his shiny bald head and blushed. "Uh oh…I think Master Roshi may have slipped something into the punch again."

Raditz raised an eyebrow. "You mean he's done this before?"

"Only at every reunion and birthday party I've ever been to," 18 replied.

"Huh."

"I'm just going to make sure he's not dead." 17 patted Raditz on the back and began walking towards the now snoring Namekian.

Raditz laughed and then turned to Krillin. "Roshi, that's the old man fondling the blue-haired woman's ass over there?"

Krillin nodded, somewhat nervously as he looked and saw the recently arrived Bulma slamming Roshi's face into the ground. His muffled laughter only causing her to grow more enraged.

"Yeah…that's him," the ex-monk sighed.

"I think I like him," Raditz beamed as he watched Master Roshi being tossed out into the vast blue ocean which surrounded the island.

18 tossed the long blonde hair from her eyes as she giggled quietly. Watching the lecherous old man face Bulma's wrath amused her.

"So, what's it like living with 17?" Krillin asked, trying to find some common ground with his former adversary.

Raditz quickly devoured the last few cookies and tossed the plate on top of a nearby chair. As he licked the pink frosting from around his mouth he paused, not really knowing what to say.

"I've had to make a few adjustments to your human way of life, but staying with someone like him is, well, refreshing."

"Like him?" 18 quipped, curious as to Raditz's meaning.

"He's different from most people in his shoes. Even though obscenely powerful, he prefers to avoid confrontation. He's kind, but not some sort of weakling. He has pride, but isn't blinded by it. I could stand to learn much from such a warrior. I'm sure his wife and children are proud of him."

"Wife and children?!" Krillin and 18 exclaimed simultaneously. 18 turned to find her brother, who was assisting Gohan with dragging Piccolo into the pink Kame house and promptly ran after him.

"Well that can't be good," Krillin muttered.

Raditz rubbed the back of his fluffy hair in embarrassment. "I figured he would've told her by now."

Krillin laughed awkwardly as he heard the screaming begin. "They'll be fine, I think."

"By the way, cute kid," Raditz said nonchalantly as he walked away from Krillin.

"Uh, thanks," Krillin replied, eyeing Raditz's tail. Though he could've made a reference to Raditz kidnapping Gohan as a toddler, he didn't want to get slammed through Kame house by the Saiyan again. The memory caused him to gently rub the side of his jaw and groan.

Raditz's eyes widened as he felt a sharp tingle in his temple once more. "What the hell is that?" he wondered aloud, looking around for the source of the discomfort. He thought back to the mysterious grey-skinned figure who lurked his dreams and grew fearful. Was this his doing?

Without warning, Goku appeared in front of the Saiyan, causing him to jump back in fright.

"Dammit Kakarot! Why can't you just fly over here like a normal Saiyan?" he growled, his hand on his still-throbbing temple.

Goku grinned as he saw his brother. "Wow Raditz, you've gotten a lot stronger since the last time I've seen you. Where've you been anyways? I was looking around for you, but I couldn't find your energy anywhere."

17 walked up behind them, smirking. "He's been training with me."

Goku's eyebrows raised as he recognized the cyborg. Though he'd never actually seen 17 in person before, it wasn't that tough of a guess, since he was the spitting image of his sister. "Android 17, right?"

17 smirked. "That's right, Goku. 'Sup."

"How in the world did you two get together?" Goku asked, puzzled.

"He-" Raditz held up his hand, interrupting 17 and looked at his brother.

"I blew up one of his deer," Raditz muttered, and then turned to 17 and added, "by the way, sorry about mentioning your personal affairs to your sister. I figured she knew."

17 laughed quietly. "It's still pretty embarrassing, living such a vanilla lifestyle. I was just putting it off, but at least she knows now. Plus, I've invited them over for dinner once Azu and my brood get home, so 18's not pissed at me anymore."

Raditz snickered. "You have fun with that."

17 cocked an eyebrow. "You're going to be there too Saiyan, don't forget it's your fault she found out."

Raditz scoffed and crossed his arms. "Whatever, tin-man."

Goku, feeling like he was listening to an old married couple bicker, couldn't help but laugh at the awkward situation. "Well, it's good to see you've made a friend, Raditz," he interjected, hoping to ease the quarreling by reminding them he was still there.

Raditz turned back to Goku, realizing for the first time he wasn't wearing his usual orange gi. Instead he wore a long white scarf over a light brown work shirt and pants. "Brother, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"What do you do here? What is your role on this planet, besides oxygen thief?"

"Oh, I'm a radish farmer!" Goku chirped. "It's pretty boring, but Chi-Chi says we need money for Goten's college fund. Plus, they're not such a terrible snack when you get hungry, just a little bitter sometimes."

"I don't know what a radish is, but it sounds stupid," Raditz mumbled.

17 looked at his friend for the longest time, amused by his insolence.

"Hell, you should be a carrot farmer then Raditz, how would that strike your fancy?" he asked, doing his best to hide his growing grin.

"Oh…shut up," Raditz replied, finally picking up on the joke.

"I don't get it," Goku whined.


	10. The Sixth Sense

As Goku rambled on about Mr. Satan, tractors and his children, Raditz's mind wandered. The sound of the waves lapping onto the beach occasionally brought Raditz back to the present, giving him ample opportunity to nod or grunt in reply to his longwinded brother before becoming lost in his thoughts once more. Raditz stared just over Goku's shoulder at a mass of black clouds which had begun gathering behind him. He found the intrusive cluster representative of his emotions. He felt an inner conflict welling up inside of him like a tsunami.

He looked around, eyeing the attendants of the party. Here he sat, being buddy-buddy with his traitorous brother, the Namek responsible for his death, a couple of cyborgs, a dwarf, an ex-bandit who Raditz was pretty sure was secretly in love with a floating cat, said floating cat, an anthropomorphic pig, a perverted old man, a turtle, a loud-mouthed blue-haired earth woman, a bratty child and a handful of half-breed Saiyans. He clinched his fist as he rested it on his lips, hiding his deepening frown. Who the hell was he anymore? As the storm clouds finally released their payload on the area, Raditz became lost in thought, completely unaware of his surroundings, despite the loud crackles of thunder that accompanied the bright flashes of lightning which seemed to dance along the sky.

Raditz's existential quandaries continued to vex his tired mind until he felt a rustling in his damp hair.

"Huh?"

Raditz turned in his cheap foldout chair to see Marron cowering beneath the remaining locks of his mane.

"Are you alright?" he asked, somewhat confused.

"I don't like storms," she replied quietly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Raditz stood, the determined eight-year old lifting up with him as he shoved his chair out of the way. "Excuse me, Kakarot," he muttered as he walked over to the house, Marron dangling behind him.

"You know, I used to hate storms too when I was your age," Raditz said as he made his way to the porch of Kame House.

"Really?" Marron asked, genuinely surprised.

"Uh huh," Raditz replied. "In fact, I was only a little older than you until I finally got over it." He breezed through the screen door and leaned over, allowing her to safely drop onto a patch of white carpet that covered a section of the hardwood floor.

Marron sat down at the ankle-level black coffee table and looked up at Raditz. "How'd you get over it?"

"I remember being marooned on a planet one time, when the computer in my ship short-circuited following damage it had suffered during my mission. Instead of following my team, I crash-landed my pod onto a planet where there was a storm that covered the entire surface of the dreadful rock, and it had been raging on and on for over three hundred years."

"That sounds scary." Marron frowned. "What happened next?"

"Well, one of the many massive tornadoes picked my pod up and slammed it through the side of a canyon and into a dark, noxious cavern where I was forced to live for a few days. Eventually a rescue party was sent after me and managed to extract me from that miserable pit. But you know what? I wasn't scared of storms after that, in fact, now I find them sort of…refreshing."

"That's freaky! Why weren't you scared anymore? If that happened to me I'd be even more scared."

Raditz eyed a laundry basket resting on a dull red sofa just below a snoring Piccolo and pulled out a couple of towels. He tossed one to Marron and began drying his hair.

"You have to face your fears if you ever want to conquer them, you can't let them control your life, or ruin your party."

Marron nodded, a look of determination flashed across her face. She tossed the towel behind her, the soggy cloth landing heavily on Piccolo's head as she stood once more before heading back to the porch. She stopped at the screen door and looked behind her.

"Hey mister?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she said before jetting out of the door, the wooden frame slamming behind her with a loud thud.

Raditz smiled, absentmindedly tossing his towel on the Namekian along with hers as he followed behind. Piccolo's long pointy ears twitched slightly before his snoring resumed.

The downpour departed as quickly as it had arrived, and soon festivities resumed. Raditz slowly began socializing, deciding to set his identity crisis aside for later. Though his relationship with his brother and nephew was nowhere near repaired, the foundations were quickly being built as he found himself beginning to actually enjoy their company. They regaled him with tales of their exploits with Frieza, Cell, Majin Buu and Lord Beerus. Soon Raditz's temples began throbbing once more as he found himself inexplicably looking to the sky.

"What is that strange sensation?" he wondered aloud.

"Oh! You must be developing your ability to sense ki. That means you won't have to rely on a scouter anymore." Goku grinned as he pointed to his own temple.

Raditz raised an eyebrow as he recalled the feeling from earlier. It was just before Kakarot arrived that he had experienced a similar feeling.

"So that's what that is," he muttered as he continued looking up. He tried focusing on the power, zoning in on it, and he gritted his teeth in fear. The mystery person's strength was just as high as Kakarot's!

"Whoever that is, they're strong!" Raditz stammered as he resumed watching the skies. He was horrified by the feeling, the overwhelming force of it all. Waves clapped against the beachhead, soaking the Saiyan's lower body. Raditz seemed to barely notice as the obvious questions kept circling around in his mind: how would he ever match such a power, and why did it feel so familiar?

"Yeah, that's Vegeta," Gohan remarked as he adjusted his glasses.

"What?!" Raditz exclaimed.

Trunks dashed over, laughing. "Yeah! Dad's coming over!"

Goten, running after his older friend, moaned incessantly. "But Trunks, every time your dad comes over I get yelled at."

"Well, maybe if you weren't such a cry baby that wouldn't happen." Trunks sneered as he hopped over a massive turtle and continued circling the island, his green gi now thoroughly soaked.

Raditz turned, eyeing a moping Goten. He couldn't help but grin, recalling the stress generated from being around the incredibly annoying Saiyan Prince. Raditz whistled, waving Goten over to him.

"What do you want?" Goten asked in a snarky tone, hoping it would make up for the fact he was still wiping a pathetic tear from his eye.

"Is that any way to talk to your uncle?" Raditz asked, grinning.

"Huh? You're not my uncle!" Goten exclaimed. Raditz nodded and pointed his thumb towards Goku, who also nodded, only half paying attention besides his growling stomach.

"Everyone has an evil uncle nowadays kid, get with the times. Anyways, I wanted to do you a favor."

"Really?" Goten asked, wide eyed.

"Yeah, consider it a severely late birthday gift from yours truly. Now, pay attention."

Raditz knelt down and quietly whispered something into Goten's ear, which caused the young boy to burst into a fit of laughter.

"Now, hit your cocky friend with that little tidbit about his old man and I guarantee you he'll be the one looking embarrassed."

Goten nodded and bounced off after Trunks. "Thank you!" he exclaimed behind him.

Raditz stood up slowly and chuckled.

Gohan looked to his uncle. "What did you tell him?"

"I'm sure you'll find out soon," Raditz replied, crossing his arms. It had been a while since he'd caused a little mischief, it being at Vegeta's expense only made it all the more enjoyable.


	11. The Prince, the King, and the Minion

Raditz watched sadly as the Prince of all Saiyans gently touched down on the sands of Master Roshi's island. It was painful actually seeing Vegeta after all of these years, the low-level Saiyan winced as he remembered receiving Vegeta's orders to conquer the earth, and bring back with him his younger brother, Kakarot…

 _Vegeta began cackling manically as Nappa and Raditz followed the prince to the hangar of Frieza Planet #79. The footsteps of the three Saiyans echoed throughout the long hallway leading to the pod hangar bay along with Vegeta's laughter._

" _Who would've guessed it would be your brother who survived that damned comet? Hopefully the boy is a little stronger than you, Raditz. There's not a whole lot of Saibamen left to spare," Vegeta sneered._

 _Raditz said nothing, instead opting to look down at the paneled floor as he walked behind the prince._

" _Are you sure he's still alive?" Nappa asked._

" _Surely he can't be that weak. Frieza's data listed Earth as a low-threat level planet." Vegeta replied. "Then again, he is related to this fool," Vegeta cruelly muttered as he motioned his thumb towards Raditz._

 _Nappa looked over his shoulder at Raditz, a reassuring grin on his face. "I'm sure he's had to have completed the task by now," the former Commander of the Saiyan Army replied._

 _As they reached their pods, Vegeta leaned against the spherical space ship and rubbed his nose with his gloved hand as he eyed Raditz._

" _It's your brother, Raditz. Therefore it's your duty to bring him before his betters. You think you can handle that?"_

 _Raditz nodded. "I'll handle it."_

 _Vegeta grinned, "That's nice to hear. Oh and by the way, should you fail to return without our long lost friend, I'll be left with no choice but to kill you, understand? After all, what would Frieza's Army need with yet another sniveling excuse of a soldier? Bring Kakarot back here, dead or alive. I don't really care which."_

 _Raditz gasped as he glared at Vegeta. "What?!"_

 _Vegeta returned the glare. "Did I stutter? There's always the chance Kakarot's programing became corrupt before he had the chance to complete his objective. The last thing we need is some two-bit hero giving us a bad name. Turn him, or kill him."_

 _Raditz growled as he clinched his fists. Who was Vegeta to tell him to kill his own brother?!_

" _Oh, please." Vegeta smirked. "You're stupid, but not that stupid."_

 _Raditz glanced briefly to Nappa, who subtly shook his head. Realizing he reacting hastily, Raditz relaxed his postured and looked away from Vegeta, causing him to laugh once more._

" _So, can you handle it?"_

" _Kakarot will join us or die," Raditz replied, straining to remain calm._

" _Good, now be gone. Nappa and I have a previous engagement off world. It'd be a shame if those pathetic souls got used to drawing breath."_

Vegeta crossed his arms as he looked past his former comrade to Goku, who was woefully oblivious to the building confrontation.

"What's this trash doing here?" Vegeta offhandedly remarked as he began walking away from the brothers.

Raditz's eyes widened at the warrior's greeting.

"So that's all the great Prince Vegeta has to say to a long-lost friend?" Raditz exclaimed, forcing a smirk on his face. "Man, you are pathetic."

Vegeta sneered as he turned back towards Raditz. "What the hell did you just say?"

"You heard me, princess," Raditz replied, crossing his arms. He knew he was no match for the astounding power that Vegeta now possessed; the prince could destroy him with a single breath, but at this point, pride was more important to Raditz than life.

Vegeta's nostrils flared with anger as he approached the Saiyan. "You do understand that the Vegeta you once knew has long since passed—while you've certainly grown in strength, you're still hopelessly outclassed, as usual. I've ascended to a level far beyond that of any other mortal being left in this universe…"

Raditz grinned. "Save the speech Vegeta, I can sense power-levels now, same as you. I know just how strong you are."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow as he halted his approach, his hands on his hips. "Are you hiding some sort of latent ability in all of that hair?" Vegeta scowled. "Because if not, you're suicidal."

Raditz extended his arms outwards. "What you see is what you get, my prince. Destroy me if you wish, I can't stop you, but I will say my piece before you do."

Vegeta snickered, his tall hair gently wafting in the steady breeze. "Fine, it's your funeral. Just don't forget who it is you're talking to, boy. I'm no low-class fool like Kakarot, you're addressing the Prince of all Saiyans."

A vein began throbbing in Raditz's temple as his ire rose, the Saiyan enveloped by rage. "You claim to be the Prince of all Saiyans, but you're little more than a heartless wretch! After fighting beside you for over a decade, having your back, killing in your name, even attacking my own brother on your unjust orders, and being KILLED for it—and _this_ is how you greet me, by calling me trash? Tsh, no big surprise there. Nappa practically raised us both and you killed him without a second thought."

Android 17 and the other Z-Fighters had since gathered around the two arguing Saiyans, following their quarrel with great interest. Yamcha leaned over Puar's shoulder and whispered into the tall ear of the floating blue and beige cat, "Even though it was his buddy who sent that green bean out to kill me, I can totally relate to this guy."

Raditz's eyes grew teary as he pointed his finger at Vegeta, his demeanor quickly deteriorating.

"Frieza may have destroyed our fathers, but _you_ killed our parent. You claim love for a race, all the while wiping out all of the dwindling survivors, just because they couldn't match up to an arrogant little prick like you. You'd have killed Tarble had he remained after Planet Vegeta's destruction, wouldn't you've?"

Vegeta said nothing, but looked away from Raditz.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Well you know what? If that's what being a Saiyan means, to hell with it…and to hell with you!" Raditz shot up from the beach and flew away from the scene, leaving a group of stunned Z-Fighters in his wake.

"Raditz!" Goku called out, preparing to chase him. Vegeta held out an arm and grimly shook his head.

"Don't, leave him be."

Goku looked confused. "But why?"

Vegeta grinned, impressed by the gall of his brethren. "For his pride. If you feel so compelled to find him later, then so be it, but allow him this moment of peace."

17 rolled his eyes at the Saiyans and turned to his sister, Krillin and Marron. "I think I know where he's headed. I'm going to meet him there to make sure he's alright. It was nice seeing you all again, I'll be sure to call you soon."

18 smiled and nodded, as did Krillin and Marron, who returned the sentiment.

"Thanks for coming, Uncle 17. Next time bring my present though, okay?" the eight-year-old insisted.

17 laughed as he ruffled her blonde hair. "Sure, but only if you make sure Piccolo stays out of the punch. I think he might have a problem."

Krillin and 18 laughed as Marron just stood, looking slightly confused.

"Huh?"

"Never mind, see you later," 17 called out before taking off after Raditz.

As 17 left, a woozy Piccolo stumbled from inside the pink house.

"Ugh, my head," the muscle-bound Namekian muttered as he made his way to the beach.

Master Roshi's eyes widened behind his red-trimmed shades as he ran up to speak with him.

"Say, sorry about that little 'accident' Piccolo, I guess I put a little more in the punch than I thought I did."

Piccolo gingerly held his antenna as he eyed Roshi. "You did this to me?"

Roshi laughed nervously. "Well, it wasn't specifically meant for you, but…well, yeah…I guess I did."

"I'm gonna-" Piccolo was unable to finish his sentence, as he suddenly clamped his hands over his mouth, his eyes widening.

"What?" Roshi asked, oblivious to the danger rising quickly from within Piccolo's gullet.

A violent spray of vomit then spewed from between the alien's fingers, covering the former World Martial Arts Champion.

Piccolo hiccupped as he wiped his mouth. "Ugh…I'm going to lay back down, remind me to kill you in the morning."

Roshi simply nodded, saying nothing as Piccolo stumbled back inside.

"You know what, I kind of deserved that," Roshi muttered as Oolong, the shape-shifting anthropomorphic pig, lay on the ground vehemently laughing at the old man's situation.

Vegeta stared off into the distance, doing his best to ignore the puke-covered old man who'd since picked up and started wiping off his face with a screeching pig in a Chairman Mao outfit. It was difficult, but years of training ignoring babbling fools like Kakarot and Future Trunks had helped him cultivate this necessary survival technique. Just as he felt himself growing more curious about the scene occurring just beyond his peripheral vision, a flustered Trunks ran up and started pulling on the leg of his battle suit, thankfully allowing him to give way to the temptation, without appearing to have done so. Vegeta wondered if it was odd that he put so much thought into not looking at something, but shrugged it off as he turned towards his son, and the two idiots just behind him.

"What is it, son?" Vegeta absent-mindedly asked, somewhat enthralled by the gang of Z-fighters now chucking the two perverts into the sea.

"Dad, Goten's spreading a nasty rumor about you."

Vegeta rubbed his eyes in annoyance. He was getting too old for this.

"What's the little fool saying now?"

"He said when you were a kid, you used to wet the bed all the time. He told me to ask about 'the incident on Tartar', something about a pee-filled pod or whatever, but I haven't got a clue what he's talking about, do you?"

"Wait—how did he…" Vegeta's cheeks flushed as he remembered Raditz's appearance on the island. Vegeta sighed dejectedly. "So, this is a thing again."

* * *

On the precipice of the highest mountain in all of Demon Realm stood a looming structure, the cracked and crumbling foundations which made up the massive complex reflected the state of the race which inhabited the deteriorating dimension. The castle, built eons prior by Makaio long since forgotten, was the last reminder of the former glory of the demon race. It was from those high stone walls that the Makaioshin united their people under a single banner. Through the towering gates they led their bravest warriors in an all-out invasion of Earth with dreams of conquest and escape from the wastelands that made up their world through several portals scattered throughout the land which allowed beings to traverse between dimensions. After centuries of struggle, demonkind seemed to have finally gained a foothold in the human plain, terrorizing the current inhabitants with their superior strength and cruelty. Soon smaller factions of Makaio began taking root around these portals, the strongest of which grew arrogant of their supremacy, and decided to send out their lower-class soldiers to do battle with the weak humans, while they lavished in the luxury of their newfound status in their fiefdoms within the portal walls.

Unfortunately for them, it was also during this time humanity was in a state of evolution. Martial artists began transcending the limits of their bodies, unlocking techniques and latent powers hidden deep within. As their mastery of spirit energy, or ki, progressed, the portals were sealed one by one; the last of which at the hands of a young Saiyan named Goku. Separated from their stronger brethren, who'd been on the opposite side of the portals at the time of their closing, the remaining demons roaming the earth soon found themselves hopelessly outmatched against this new class of fighter and were systematically eliminated; the few remaining survivors preferring to hide in solitude rather than face this new threat. The surviving Makaio turned their frustrations on one another and chaos ensued for many years, leaving countless dead in brutal wars over the now highly contested territories of the Demon Realm.

Eventually demonkind was reunited once more following the bloodshed by a powerful king known as Dabura. This brief interlude of reformation would not last however, as Dabura found himself enslaved following his seeking out of the wizard Babadi to help bring his people back to prominence. After suffering defeat from the Saiyans of Earth once more, the brainwashed king fell victim to his own devious ally, Majin Buu, and all hope seemed lost once more until a new leader rose to tackle the task.

It was in the reign of Erebus, the undisputed King of the Demons, that these failures and catastrophes were most evident, and in desperate need of rectification. His violet eyes turned to the Human Realm once more, with vicious intent towards those who thwarted the expansion of his people in the past.

His sights were set on Goku.

In the shadowy interior of Devil Castle, a small figure scuttled just beneath the reach of the torches lining the seemingly endless hallways of the area. Only the occasional gleam from the creature's porcelain white skull and glowing red pupils separated him from the darkness surrounding the corridors. In this environment, the demon thrived, happily completing his assignments away from the prying eyes of his kind, his swift movements barely broke the ever-present silence which clung to the halls like the cobwebs dangling from the ceiling.

The silence was soon shattered by the commanding voice of the king, which boomed throughout the entirety of the castle's craggy limestone walls.

"Wadsworth, to my chambers immediately!"

"Coming Master!" replied the demon; his meek, squeaky voice barely carried a foot, much less the quarter mile he now dashed to promptly heed the call of his ruler.

As he scurried full speed to the Room of the Black Throne, he unintentionally slammed beak-first into the massive iron door leading to his destination with a force so great it shuttered open with the demon pinned to it. As rust particles from the door's hinges rained down over the embarrassed underling, Erebus watched unamused amongst the few remaining luxuries left in the realm. The smooth stone floor of the throne room was covered in a massive opulent purple rug. Along the banisters hung a series of ornamental tapestries detailing the long history of demonkind under various Makaio who'd accomplished something of worth at one point or another during their rule. The large onyx throne which sat directly in the middle of the massive room gleamed in the torchlight like oil in the sun, exposing the many intricate carvings which lined the sides, back, and armrests which covered it. The beauty of the Black Throne was eclipsed only by that of Erebus' queen, Lilith, who lay behind the throne on a raised bed, unenthusiastically flipping through an old LIFE magazine.

"What the hell are you doing, Wadsworth?" Erebus asked, his bushy eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Nothing, sorry sir," Wadsworth replied as he jerked his beak free from its iron prison, causing him to plummet to the floor, his black stocking cap following suit. The bronze bell at the end jingled sadly as it landed on his head. "Ow."

"Now that you're finished ruining the last of our furnishings, get over here. I'm in need of your talents."

Wadsworth shot up, quickly picking up his hat and patting the dust from his black uniform before making his way to his king. In the middle of the pitch black fabric was an embroidered white circle bearing Erebus' sigil. Erebus rested his chin in his palm and sighed quietly as his disgruntled minion got himself situated. Wadsworth pushed up the long sleeves of his shirt, revealing his slender dark green forearms and clawed hands. Waving his arms around him like a man possessed, his glowing red eyes brightened even further as red sparks began dancing along the demon's wrists and fingers. With a squeal, he slammed his hands together, causing the sparks to congregate to his scaly palms in the form of a small dark orb, which began growing wider as pulled his hands further apart. Soon the orb was a large as a hubcap, and Raditz could be seen flying across the ocean through the hazy device.

"There's our guy." Erebus grinned as he leaned forward from his throne to better make out the image. "He seems significantly stronger already," the demon king chirped.

"Pardon me for asking, your grace, but why go through so much trouble bringing back such a weak warrior?" Wadsworth inquired.

Erebus sat back and absentmindedly ran his thumb along the curve of the golden amulet hanging from around his neck.

"It's simple, my friend," the king began, his excitement rising with every syllable. "Goku and Raditz are two sides of the same coin. Some would argue it's Prince Vegeta, but I disagree. The same blood flows through their veins, the same opportunity for astounding strength… the same potential for unlocking yet another secret of the Saiyan race, but for our purposes of course. While Goku's certainly less damaged than our future ally, Raditz is much better suited for my needs. His proclivity for evil makes him perfect for my plan. To be honest, the only slight snag in our strategy is it seems he's becoming more and more tamed the longer he spends on Earth, a reoccurring theme for these Saiyans, but that won't be an issue for long…we just need to bide our time, increase our presence in his dreams and watch him grow stronger and stronger until he's ready…then we simply take him."

Wadsworth gulped, feeling both aroused and afraid of the plan, which he felt regarding a lot of things, like Lilith for example. The tiny demon lived his life walking that fine line, and the unexpected erection beneath his uniform gave credence to the notion that he wasn't about to change now. "So, that's why you needed me to forge the soul gem then, to bring him back for this devious purpose."

Erebus nodded, looking down at his prize. "Yes, while a hundred thousand damned souls may seem like a steep price to pay to bring back young Raditz, it's actually a bargain, sort of like a Groupon. He's the only one who can accomplish the task, and to save our race, I'd find a million more souls to trap…" Erebus eyed a small cloth bag leaned against the side of his throne. "Not that I'll need to find them when phase two comes to pass…when the content of this bag is unleashed, they'll come to me in droves."

Erebus, Wadsworth and Lilith all began to laugh hysterically, as it seemed their master plan was finally on the cusp of coming to fruition.


	12. Sweet Dreams

_Erebus gripped Raditz by his throat and held him aloft, the Saiyan's blood pouring onto the demon king's sleeves. Raditz struggled against the paralyzing effect wrought by Erebus' bite, but he wasn't even able to lift his arms, much less defend himself._

" _You don't understand, Raditz," Erebus grunted as he tightened his grip on his prey. "It's not me you should be fearing…"_

 _Raditz gasped as he began fading in and out of consciousness. He looked down one more time and instead of Erebus, he was being strangled by a cackling Kakarot, his red hair whipping about in the windstorm surrounding them._

"… _it's me, brother."_

" _Kakarot!" Raditz shouted, hate oozing from each syllable. He suddenly felt a strange surge of energy rushing through him as he became enveloped in a black aura. As he wrenched Kakarot's hand from his throat, Raditz roared in defiance. Kakarot looked shocked as Raditz twisted his brother's arm until a sickening snap echoed around them. Kakarot howled in anguish as he leapt back, cradling the broken limb. Blood from the now exposed bone jutting from his forearm dripped onto the floor in a rhythmic pattern. A small puddle began forming beneath him as Kakarot began screaming, charging his ki. Red gave way to blue as he transformed into his Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan form._

" _Now, it's time to finish this!" Kakarot hissed, charging Raditz._

" _Burn in hell!" Raditz replied as he extended his arms. "Devil Double Sunday!"_

 _Massive waves of deep red energy fired from the Saiyan's muscular arms, the recoil of the wave causing Raditz's flowing silver hair to thrash about in the resulting aftershock of the blast. Unable to dodge the attack, Kakarot shielded himself with his remaining arm before shrieking in agony as he disappeared in the bright light. Raditz grinned as he flexed his still outstretched hand. As the smoke cleared, nothing remained of the treacherous brother besides a bloody corpse lying in a massive crater. Burning shreds of orange fabric rose from his body._

" _Ha ha ha! I've killed him! Kakarot is dead!" Raditz shouted in excitement. However, a sudden wave of horror overcame the elated Saiyan as the words spoken began to sink in. He shook his head in confusion as his hair once more changed to its normal raven black._

 _He slid down the side of the crater and knelt beside Kakarot. Raditz rolled his brother onto his back, seeking answers from the remains._

" _Wait, what?!" he exclaimed in shock as he saw the face of his victim. It wasn't Kakarot, it was the face of Vegeta. As he stared, a bright red flash erupted from the deceased prince's empty eyes, briefly blinding Raditz. As he regained his vision, he screamed in dismay. The crater was suddenly full of corpses. He frightfully leapt backwards from the gory pile. Cautiously peering over the side at the horrendous sight, Raditz gasped in horror. At the top of the pile lay the outstretched body of Android 17, his mouth hanging agape, as if screaming even in death. Next to him lie the remains of his family, including Krillin and Marron._

" _No, not you too…" Raditz softly whispered as he reached out for his friend. As he grasped 17's hand to pull him from the morbid scene, the cyborg sunk legs first further down into the pile, as if being pulled from below. Suddenly, 17's eyes sprang to life, the usual icy blue pupils were instead a hellish bright red._

" _There's no escaping your fate, Saiyan!" 17 shouted, his voice laced with a static robotic distortion. He then suddenly clutched Raditz's wrist in an unbreakable grip and yanked him from the safety of his perch. Raditz gritted his teeth and struggled to break free, but to no avail. He slammed his free hand into 17's face before firing a series of powerful ki blasts, his head rocking back from the impact, however his grip remained unchanged. 17 sat back up, half of his head now missing. 17 smirked as the bodies around them began to swirl about, melting with each pass until a pitch black wall of ooze surrounded them both. Several tentacles then emerged from all around them, seemingly targeting only 17. As a last ditch effort to escape, Raditz brazenly ripped 17's hand from his wrist and began soaring straight upwards towards the bright rays of the moon and away from the vortex. Just as it seemed he'd finally escaped the vile surroundings, a black clawed hand extended from the swirling mass and clasped his ankle. Raditz's eyes widened as 17 rose after him; the missing fragments of his face were now replaced with that of Erebus'. The voice from his nightmares mixed with that of 17's, causing Raditz to cringe with his every word._

" _My proxy, what did I just tell you? You can't escape your fate, no matter how hard you resist. Your brother must die…along with his little friends. Regain your pride, Raditz, and the powers you'll gain will make even those sniveling Kais shiver in your presence…kill Kakarot…kill them all…"_

 _Without warning, Erebus jammed his clawed hand through Raditz's chest plate, the same spot Piccolo's beam had found purchase years prior. Raditz wheezed as Erebus withdrew his now bloodied arm, laughing as he flicked the Saiyan's blood from his fingers. As fast as lightning, Erebus grabbed hold of Raditz's face, his claws clasping onto the temples of the wounded warrior._

" _Don't forget, you will do as you're told…or your soul is MINE!"_

 _Erebus then squeezed as hard as he could, and a deafening crunch echoed throughout the area. As Raditz's skull gave way, he fell limp. His limbs twitching at random as the synapses of his spine lost contact with one another. Blood poured from his eyes and nose like a fierce flow of lava as he succumbed to his grievous wounds. Finished with the lesson, Erebus released him, causing the lifeless Saiyan to plummet back into the void…_

* * *

Raditz screamed in terror as he abruptly awoke in the field, blood from the wound on his forehead dripping down into his eyes. 17 approached him, his eyebrows raised in concern.

"You alright, big guy? I didn't think I hit you that hard."

Raditz shook his head, wiping the blood from his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered, unconvinced himself.

"Maybe we should take a breather, Raditz. You've been going kind of hard since we got back from the party..."

"How the hell am I going to get stronger than Kakarot and Vegeta if I just lie around and sleep? Besides, with your family coming back soon, I've got to get all of the training in that I can," Raditz replied as he slowly rose to his feet, his eyes examining the cyborg for hints of anything demonic. He quickly put the notion aside as he gingerly rubbed his forehead.

"You do realize that there's a difference between training and wrecking your body, right?" 17 asked, growing annoyed.

Raditz shook his head before resuming a fighting stance. "Not to a Saiyan."

17 rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hands in the back pockets of his blue jeans. "There's got to be a smarter way than this to train. I'm worried about you, Raditz. This isn't healthy."

"Shut up and fight me, tin-man. Soon I'll be strong enough to wipe that smug look off of your face!"

17 frowned as he held his arms aloft. "Whatever, but this time I'll be serious, I've got to make my rounds in the forest soon."

As Raditz charged the cyborg, his eyes went wild with the ferocity of an Oozaru. The intensity of the bloodcurdling scream erupting from his friend caused the cyborg to flinch and left him wide open for attack. Raditz landed a solid punch on 17's cheek, sending him jostling backwards in an attempt to regain his footing. 17 glared as he watched Raditz advance, seeking to capitalize on the distraction even further. A bright blue light then briefly surrounded 17, repelling Raditz just long enough for him to regain his composure.

"Bastard!" Raditz growled.

As Raditz reeled, 17 twisted around and kicked the Saiyan right in his bare stomach, causing his eyes to bug out of his head.

"Gahh!" Raditz exclaimed, doubling over in pain. Huffing rapidly, he watched as 17 moved in for the finish. Raditz fired off a massive ki blast directly into the ground, propelling him high in the air. As 17 gave chase, Raditz halted his rise and held his right hand aloft. Within seconds a pink ball of energy began forming around his palm.

"Saturday Crush!" he exclaimed, firing the attack just as 17 nearly closed the gap between them.

"Damn it!" 17 scowled as the attack slammed into his shoulder, ripping away his clothing and tearing into his flesh.

Raditz laughed as he flew towards the battered cyborg. "This is it, try not to blink!"

Slamming his broad shoulder into 17's gut, the Saiyan then wrapped his furry brown tail around the cyborg's throat before pitching him back down to the earth below. 17 collided hard with the ground, the dirt collapsing at the force of impact. 17 frowned as he stood up, his hair frazzled from the hit. Tearing off the remaining fragments of his shirts, 17 extended his finger and fired his death ray at the fast approaching Saiyan. Using the afterimage technique, Raditz dodged the powerful attack and reappeared behind 17. As Raditz prepared to attack, 17 rammed the back of his head directly into the Saiyan's face, causing him to dash away. The blood now pouring from his nose reminded him of the terrible nightmare which had haunted him only moments prior. As he felt a ping in his temple, he snapped out of his daze and looked up, just in time to see the massive blue energy wave collide dead on with his scarred chest. The mighty Power Blitz wave sent Raditz skimming along the field like a rock on the water before finally coming to rest in the cool embrace of a large nearby lake.

17 stuffed his hands in the pockets of his charred blue jeans as he slowly levitated to the edge of the lake. "I may have over did it with that one…" he muttered to himself as he gently touched down in the mass of cattails lining the water. Peering into the lake's surface, he waited.

"Shit," he muttered as the ripples in the water dissipated, returning to stillness with no signs of the Saiyan. As he prepared to dive in, 17 halted and quickly twisted around, slamming his foot into Raditz's neck, causing the sneaky Saiyan to collapse in a heap beneath him.

"Hmph, you're improving much faster than I thought." 17 grinned as he knelt down beside his friend. As he slipped a senzu bean into Raditz's mouth, 17 helped the battered warrior to his feet. As his body quickly healed, Raditz smiled weakly.

"It's nowhere near where I need to be, though. There's got to be a way to attain Kakarot's power…but how?"

"If we knew the answer to that, I'm not so sure there'd still be an Earth, would there?" 17 quipped.

Raditz chuckled as he walked over to a set of lawn chairs they'd placed nearby. Picking up his towel, he wiped the blood and sweat from his face. "I suppose not, something's been distracting me though."

17 hopped over the back of his chair and landed softly in the seat. "What's up?"

As he finished drying off his shoulders, Raditz paused, somewhat embarrassed. "The nightmares I've been having since I was released from Hell...they're getting increasingly unsettling as time goes on, especially when _he_ appears..."

17 looked over, confused. "Who?"

Raditz slipped into his combat armor and patted the chest plate; for whatever reason, it gave him some small fragment of comfort. "There's this figure who's been terrorizing me in my dreams; he keeps telling me I have to do terrible things, that he's holding my soul hostage. He kills me every night, each time worse than the last after forcing me to hurt my friends…" Raditz frowned as he looked hard at 17. The ruffled up cyborg meant a great deal to him, it pained him to think he'd ever cause 17 true harm, or even Kakarot for that matter.

17 winced at the pained look in Raditz's eyes, the unfamiliar expression exposing his fear.

"That doesn't sound good at all, maybe now's a good time visit the Guardian and see if he can enlighten us a little, we've put it off long enough."

Raditz grumbled as he turned away from 17, his tail wagging almost frantically as he pondered.

"I'll make you a deal, you come with me to see the Guardian, and I'll sort out your little training problem, 'kay?" 17 offered.

Raditz scoffed as he sat down on the chair and looked up at the white clouds soaring overhead.

"Whatever."

17 laughed a little as he itched his nose. "That's normally my line."


	13. The Room of Shadows

As Lilith and Wadsworth entered the throne room, they paused upon seeing Erebus in the middle of manipulating the amulet's power once more. The king barred his long canines as he stood up from his throne, his eyes still closed tight with his deep concentration. It was clear to them whatever he was conjuring up was growing in intensity. What was still in question was for whom was the act more detrimental, Raditz or Erebus? Sweating profusely, the demon king stumbled forward, gripping either side of his forehead before his legs began to buckle from the massive energy drain. Lilith's eyes widened as she watched Erebus collapse. Fearing the worst, they ran over to their fallen king, who now lay motionless against one of the large granite pillars surrounding the area.

"Master!" Wadsworth howled as he dashed to his king, franticly shaking Erebus' shoulder. Lilith flowed suit, kneeling down beside her lover, gently pulling back the hair from his face. Slowly coming to, Erebus groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

"You've overdone it again, you ass," she scolded gently as a slight grin began appearing along the edges of her full lips, relieved her husband was still alive.

"Master, you know heavy blood magic drains the user…please try to be more cautious," the beaked minion whimpered, his beady red eyes wrought with worry.

Erebus sat up; methodically cracking his neck before heavily exhaling. "Yeah, yeah, shut up," he muttered before slowly standing, his brood positioned on either side of him for support. Despite his weakened state, he couldn't help but smirk. "It's astonishing… the level of control I'm gaining over the monkey's dreams increases each time I set foot in that noggin of his."

As they lowered Erebus back into his throne, Lilith jerked the ruby pendant from around his neck.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?!" Erebus exclaimed, surprised by his beloved's actions.

"Wadsworth is right, my king. You're closer to shuffling off of this mortal coil than you think. Give Raditz a break for a bit while you regain some strength, don't forget, we're playing the long game."

"Humph!" Erebus grunted as he pouted. Lilith looked at him, her expression unchanging.

Sighing, the demon relented as he returned to his senses. "Fine, you're right…as usual. He'll get a reprieve from my visits for the time being. We're just so damn close, you know? Soon I'll be able to lead our people from this barren existence, but I've just got to make sure the Saiyan is ready when the time comes. It's just worrying that someone with a dark a heart as his is being corrupted by the humans. I just feel if I don't return him to his scorned state, this chance will be lost to us."

Lilith smiled as she donned the pendant. "It's your devotion to us that keeps me by your side, Erebus. Just remember, you're no good to us dead. In any case, dream manipulation past this point is no longer required to conquer monkey-boy's newfound mindset."

Erebus sat up, his eyes wide with excitement. "What?!"

Lilith grinned mischievously as she turned to Wadsworth. "Show him."

Wadsworth withdrew a vial from within his baggy sleeve, the contents of which glowed a fierce red color as it rotated within the glass confines of its container. "It's taken me a few decades, but I've finally perfected my formula, Master."

"Wait, is that…"

Wadsworth nodded. "Makaioshin Mist. It makes Garlic Jr's pitiful batch of sorcery look like tap water in comparison. It's doubtful even a goody-goody like Goku could withstand its potent magic for too long."

Erebus began to cackle wildly as he plucked the vial from his minion's clawed hands. "With this, there's no way we can fail…sure someone as pure hearted as innocent little Goku may find some way to resist, but that's not the plan, now is it?!" Erebus exclaimed. "Soon those Z-dorks will be nothing more than dust, and we'll have ourselves a little blitzkrieg as a reward!"

Lilith crossed her arms and grinned. "We were certain you'd be pleased, my king."

"Pleased? More like on the verge of climax!" Erebus gripped his throne as he forced his weakened body to stand. Stumbling over to Wadsworth, the king gripped his underling underneath his arms and lifted him up, giving him a long, exaggerated kiss on the top of his skull, causing the small demon to squirm uncomfortably. He then plopped Wadsworth back onto the floor before returning to his own seat.

"Now, let's just sit back and watch our friend's little adventures unfold. With this ace up my sleeve, I think we can afford them a moment's peace before we send the sky crashing down atop their heads."

* * *

Perched on top of the edge of the bathtub, Raditz rested his face in his palms in boredom, watching Android 17 lean forward in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. The two had just returned from 17's morning trek through the massive wildlife preserve and the Saiyan's patience had begun to wear thin as the noon sun rose ever higher, reminding the Saiyan of the precious time being wasted by his friends' primping.

"Why do you have to take so long doing that?" Raditz grumbled as he watched the cyborg's mouth become frothy, reminding the ex-space pirate of a rabid dog.

17 glanced over to Raditz after he pulled out his toothbrush and spit into the basin.

"I'm a cyborg, not a mongrel, like some people," 17 replied as he turned on his faucet and rinsed his brush. He pressed an oval button which was tucked underneath the lip of the counter, causing a small rack filled with four other toothbrushes to emerge from a hidden compartment. After hanging his own on a small metallic hook with the other brushes, he pressed the button once more, causing the rack to withdraw. Before shutting off the faucet, 17 flicked a dribble of water at the moody Saiyan, causing him to scowl.

"I'm no mongrel, I just don't trust that paste you earthlings use. On Vegeta, my ancestors ingested a special plant with superior hygienic properties, as opposed to your… 'Colgate.' It looks like you've been poisoned every time you use it. Even after Frieza annexed us, some traditionalists still preferred it to the oral sprays the Planet Trade Organization issued."

17 said nothing for a moment before flicking water at Raditz once again.

"God damn it, stop that!" Raditz yelled, causing his friend to double over in laughter.

Wiping a tear from his eye, 17 continued to chuckle slightly as he stood straight once more.

"Sorry, sorry. Anyways, I figured you might want this, in case you ever feel inclined to give our 'paste crap' a try," 17 opened the medicine cabinet behind the mirror and produced a toothbrush, then tossed it to Raditz; the brush jostling against its plastic packing as it landed in the Saiyan's callused hands.

Raditz looked down at it and tried to hide a smile, secretly touched by 17's kind gesture.

"Thanks," Raditz said as he began rending the device from the confines of its packaging.

"Go ahead and use it if you want, then we'll head off to the Lookout. Bulma should be there shortly."

"The blue-haired woman?" Raditz asked absentmindedly as he fiddled with the bristles on the brush. "What for?"

"She's got a device she's willing to lend us that should help you make great strides in your training."

"Sounds interesting," Raditz replied as he grinned wildly, his patience restored by the idea of furthering his much needed training.

After cleaning the bathroom from the fallout of Raditz's first encounter with a tube of toothpaste, the two began their journey to the Lookout.

Flying just behind 17, Raditz felt strangely at peace, a feeling almost as alien to him as he was to this world.

The dreams he'd had the night prior had been the first not riddled with nightmares, instead he dreamed of a dense forest littered with flowers and wildlife. Instead of the demonic figure who usually haunted him there, he was with his old flame Peperu, lying together on a bed of grass gently wafting in the wind. In the distance he heard the sound of laughter, looking up he saw his parents laughing with Kakarot and his brats. 17, 18, and Marron were close by, chasing Krillin with playful intent. All was right with the world as he laid his head back down to look at his love…then he woke up. Though sad, he couldn't help but smile as fragments of the dream continued playing back in his head during their flight. Maybe he could find that peace once more after all of this was over, after he'd achieved his goals and become stronger. He could've never bore the thought upon his initial arrival to Earth, but as Raditz flew adjacent to Android 17, he dared to hope.

Before long, the two were greeted by the massive structure jutting out into the heavens known as Korin Tower. It was here that 17 had been given the bulging sack of senzu beans from the cat demigod for whom the tower was named. As the two continued flying up the ornately carved stone pillars, 17 looked to Raditz and pointed to the top of the tower which was just coming into view.

"Let's stop by here first, we're in need of more senzu beans."

Raditz crossed his arms and sighed, not wanting to be any more social than he had to be. He complied nevertheless and as they reached the bottom of the building which rested on the worn stone, 17 nodded to a series of metal rungs leading to an access hatch. Crawling through it, they were greeted by a strange sight upon entering the main hall. Yajirobe, the 'chubby samurai' as 17 described him, was practically heaving for air as he ran as hard as he could on a rickety treadmill.

"Gahh—gahh, can I get off this thing now?! I've been running at full speed for hours!" Yajirobe whined in between his pants, sweat drenching nearly every part of his orange-red yukata.

"Oh, quit whining you big baby, you've only been on that thing for ten minutes!" Korin replied as he scratched behind his fluffy white ears with his large wooden staff. He turned to his newly arrived visitors and grinned, his pronounced canines becoming even more visible from the act. "Hey, 17. Back so soon? It was the tea, wasn't it? You came back for a second helping."

17 laughed nervously as he rested his thumbs in his pockets. "Uh, no thanks. We're actually heading to Kami's Lookout to speak with the Guardian concerning Raditz. We were hoping you might have some more senzu beans to spare."

Korin sighed as he put the teapot back down on the table. "Fine, your loss…anyways, yeah, we do have plenty of extra beans since I made Yajirobe go on a diet, follow me and I'll grab you a bag full."

17 sighed in relief as they followed Korin further into the tower interior where many massive clay pots lined the wall. Looking to Raditz, 17 smirked. "Looks like you're not the only one training," the cyborg mumbled.

Raditz rolled his eyes as they came to a stop by the pots.

"So, you're Goku's brother, huh?" the cat inquired as he opened one of the containers, revealing a plethora of senzu beans.

"Yes, Kakarot and I share the same parents," Raditz answered shortly.

"Well, that's a way to phrase it," Korin mumbled.

Korin handed 17 another satchel of beans and closed the pot back, the wooden lid clanking against the jar's rim. Korin then turned back to Raditz, observing him. Or at least, Raditz assumed he was observing him, as his eyes appeared to be constantly closed.

"You've gotten a lot stronger since your last visit to this planet. I'm impressed."

Raditz raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised. "How'd you know how strong I was before?"

Korin grinned. "I watch over the earth, much like Kami. It's kind of my job to know, especially when an alien arrives to destroy its inhabitants and sell it."

Raditz blushed slightly as he recoiled from the surprising amount of knowledge held by the furry demigod.

"Yeah…sorry about that."

"No problem, I can also see into people's hearts and know their intentions. If I thought you still capable of such actions, there's no way I'd be giving you the time of day, much less senzu beans," Korin laughed as he walked back to the main room to check on the exasperated Yajirobe. "You two run on now, Dende's waiting for you. Do come back for tea though."

"Thanks," 17 replied as he and Raditz launched themselves out of the large windows lining the walls.

Korin waved them away before returning to Yajirobe, who was lying passed out next to the still running treadmill.

"Hey, get back on there! You've still got five minutes of cardio left to do!" Korin yelled.

"I'm hungry," Yajirobe replied.

"You're always hungry, why do you think you weigh more than my friggin' tower?!"

* * *

As 17 and Raditz finally reached the serene lookout from which Dende kept watch, the Saiyan grimaced, sensing a strong presence amongst them. Touching down on the massive porcelain tiles which made up the majority of the complex, Raditz looked around before seeing Piccolo, who levitated in a meditative state near one of the massive trees lining the front of the area. He rose as they began walking towards them, his eyes still somewhat red from the incident at the party.

"Piccolo! Fancy seeing you here," 17 greeted as he casually waved at the Namekian. Though they'd once been enemies, 17 and Piccolo had developed a deep respect for one another. The two had stood against Cell side by side despite their previous conflict, and though their efforts were fruitless, the sense of comradery lingered, even after 17's resurrection.

Piccolo nodded curtly, ignoring Raditz completely. "Good to see you, 17. What brings you here?"

17 turned to Raditz. "My friend here's been having recurring nightmares all stemming around some mysterious creature. It's possible that they may give us some insight into the reason behind his resurrection."

Piccolo looked to Raditz and grinned. "Raditz, you've been busy training since yesterday."

Raditz frowned. "Not busy enough, after this little session with God, I'd like to resume my training. I've got a long way to go before I can even hold a candle to you, much less Kakarot."

Piccolo was surprised at how candidly Raditz spoke about their significant power difference, but his face remained stoic. The Saiyan seemed somehow different since he'd returned to earth, almost docile. He couldn't have imagined the old Raditz attending a child's birthday party, or caring enough about someone else to comfort them. Though in a drunken stupor at the time, Piccolo had overheard Raditz's story he'd told to Marron to make her less fearful of the storm that had caused her to panic. The time with the cyborg was to thank for this new progression, no doubt, even Gohan had begun to soften his once ridged opinion of his uncle. Still, Piccolo wondered just how much Raditz had actually changed. Was it a front? A way to lull his friends into a false sense of security before revealing his true dastardly intent? One thing was for sure, Piccolo was determined to find out.

The lanky teenage god soon joined them, his blue cloak placed neatly over his shoulder as he walked gracefully in tune with the large wooden staff he carried. Following closely behind him was Mr. Popo, the intrepid genie who watched over the Guardian of the Earth and his lookout.

"Hello again," Dende greeted, not nearly as meek and nervous as he had been in their prior meeting. Raditz was almost disappointed.

As 17 once again revealed their reason for coming to the lookout, Dende listened closely as he pondered the new facts that were being brought to light.

"It sounds like this mysterious figure could be the cause of all this, but I'd have to see him to know for certain."

"How do you plan to do that, are you going to take a trip inside my head or something?" Raditz snapped.

"Yes, actually." Dende grinned. "Follow me."

"Huh," Raditz muttered as he and the others followed Dende into the palace. After passing through a series of lavish rooms, they made their way to a door marked 'The Room of Shadows'.

"Well, that's not ominous at all," Raditz quipped as they stood by the entrance. Whatever lay behind it could very well answer the burning questions in his soul, but it could also lead to the Saiyan's undoing. What if it caused him to shuffle off this mortal coil once more? What if it undid whatever dark spell allowed him to return? Or, as Raditz feared, what if it was simply a mistake that brought him back to life, and he was jettisoned back into King Yemma's cage?

"This room may hold answers to the questions you have, but I warn you, they may not be to your liking," Dende whispered.

Raditz nodded, his eyebrow flinching. "Let's get this over with."

Dende smiled as he turned the heavy bronze latch, causing the door to violently swing open.

"After you."


	14. Soul Searching

_A/N (8/21/2015): Chapter 12 has been updated due to a minor inconsistency. Also, please bear with me if it takes a little longer than normal to write past chapter 16. If I continue following my outline as I intend to, then by that point the chapters may end up becoming a bit lengthier and more directly connected to the main story arc. (In other words, poop's going to hit the fan in the story reeeaaallllyyy soon and I don't want to screw it up by rushing to put out something, I want to make sure you all have the best quality content I can provide.) I appreciate your patience!_

 _Also, I just wanted to thank everyone who has been keeping up with my story and providing me honest opinions and comments. Without your interest and awesome feedback, this fanfic would've been nothing more than a one-shot. So, thank you for your continued support, and thank you for helping me to make 'Scorned' what it is today... it really means a lot._

As Raditz passed through the doorway of the Room of Shadows, he steeled himself to what awaited him in the frightening darkness that made up the void. In the stream of light emanating from outside the open door, Raditz watched the gentle wafting of the heavy grey fog that coated the thick stone floor as it ominously rolled across the room. As Dende closed the doorway behind him, Raditz was trapped in the vast expanse of what seemed like eternal blackness; the echoing of the door's heavy clang reverberated all around him as it sealed. The Saiyan rubbed his eyes, hoping to hasten the time it took them to adjust to the new setting, but his vision remained obscured by the darkness. Frowning, Raditz grew irritated from the situation and began cursing under his breath as he held his hand aloft. Summoning his ki into his palm, Raditz used the bright yellow aura as a sort of makeshift torch. The light from the energy lit the area around the Saiyan, but only barely.

Raditz raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the apparent thickness of the darkness surrounding him. He knew the thought was insane, but it felt as if the black was weighing down on his chest more and more as he pressed forward. He put aside the thought and continued on, hoping to find the end of the room so that he could accurately map out the strange location. Soon, he felt the same heaviness on his eyelids with his every breath as he pushed further and further inwards. As his ki evaporated back into his body, Raditz felt as if the dark were somehow spinning around him. Soon rings of bright colors began apperating in front of the drowsy warrior, rotating in such a manner that he felt evenenvelop groggier as he followed them towards destinations unknown.

"Oh…shit…" he slurred as he felt his legs give way.

Raditz looked up, dazed and confused, watching the incandescent rings envelope him as he slowly drifted out of consciousness and into an impenetrable slumber.

Android 17 leaned against the wall with his arms crossed as he looked worriedly at the door. Despite his inability to sense power levels, he felt as if Raditz were in some sort of trouble. He turned his attention to Dende, who smiled upon meeting his gaze. Somehow, he heard the God's comforting thoughts in his head, causing him to relax slightly, but only just. Dende then turned to Piccolo, who nodded to him. 17 tilted his head curiously at the action. Was telekinesis a trait of Namekians? Dr. Gero had uploaded a limited number of files on the alien race, most of which were more than likely incorrect, but 17 felt as if it were a distinct possibility. Then again, Piccolo had merged with the previous God just before their own battle; did the previous abilities of the old guardian pass along to Piccolo? 17 furrowed his brow, confused as to which was more likely. He almost giggled at the absurdity of the thought. He, a cyborg, was wondering the telekinetic abilities of an alien race versus that of a god. Were he anywhere else with such ideas, he'd either be in a rubber room, or work for the History Channel…maybe both.

Dende twitched his prominent antenna as he closed his eyes. "Raditz is asleep now, let us enter," the guardian announced mysteriously.

17 and Piccolo followed him through the doorway as Popo slowly closed the door behind them. An aura of bright white light encompassed Dende as he guided them through the room to Raditz, whose body dangled limply in mid-air, encompassed by several energy rings which orbited around his axis, their bright colors shifting every few seconds to another brilliant hue as they circled Raditz's body.

"Is he OK?" 17 asked, his stomach turning at the sight.

"He's fine, just in a deep sleep," Dende replied knowingly as they reached the slumbering Saiyan.

Piccolo looked over to 17, whose cobalt eyes were still locked onto his trapped friend as he allowed himself to smirk. He found the cyborg's friendship with the annoying Saiyan strangely heartening. At times, it almost seemed parallel to his own relationship with Gohan in a weird way.

With outstretched arms, Dende closed his palms, causing Raditz's body to slowly rotate until he hung horizontally and begin to lower until he hovered only a few inches above the fog which covered the floor. Dende gently slid his clawed fingertips along on Raditz's temples, causing red sparks to begin concentrating along the sides of the Saiyan's head from his nails. Dende closed his eyes as if in some sort of trance as he continued moving downwards until he reached Raditz's armored chest and halted his advance. The sparks continued to intensify as they traced along the indents of his face and the grooves of the armor until finally concentrating between Dende's hands before manifesting fully into a small mass of intensely bright swirling matter.

17's mouth hung agape as he gazed at the smoke-like substance. The sight reminded him of his brief stint at the check-in station in Otherworld. He'd seen by similar forms as they marched in line towards their eternal judgement at the hands of King Yemma, but this one was somehow different; it felt alive, vivacious. Unlike the muted semi-transparent 'clouds' in Otherworld, this one beamed with a light-red hue, so brilliant it lit the area with its energy alone.

"That's—that's his soul?" 17 asked, not taking his eyes off of the spectral sight.

Piccolo nodded. "The Room of Shadows is a lot like the Hyperbolic Time Chamber; right now we're standing in a completely different dimension. Here it's easier to manifest one's spirit outside the body than it would be in our normal dimension, also, significantly less dangerous."

17's eye twitched uncomfortably as Dende manipulated Raditz's soul, causing it to expand twice its original size as he peered deeply into the mass. "I just figured it would have been a more introspective look like with Korin, not quite so literal…"

"In order to reveal scars suffered by the spirit, it's necessary. Whenever a supernatural force 'touches' the mind or body, like the dragon balls for instance, our souls are forever scarred by the experience. While it's not anything that will negatively affect us, it enables those with the skill to manipulate such energy to uncover the source of such scars."

"Huh."

Dende gasped as he discovered the blemish on Raditz's soul; it was a long black scar hid underneath the center mass, as if etched there with a blade wielded by one with cruel intent.

"This is it!" Dende exclaimed as he closely examined the scar.

"Well?" 17 snapped, growing weary of the suspense.

"It appears demonic in origin...whatever made this mark was very skilled, as well as cruel," Dende spoke aloud, more to himself than anyone else as he closely examined the jagged blackness of the tear.

"So Raditz wasn't exaggerating about the nightmares then," 17 said as he turned to Piccolo.

"This does present a problem though," Piccolo replied.

"Such as?"

"Whether he's being tormented or not, Raditz was brought back by demons. We have to fully investigate his mind if we're to rule out that he's acting under their influence. If he is, it could endanger us all and we'll have to deal with him while we have the chance."

"What?!" 17 growled, growing defensive.

"Look, I know you've become close to Raditz, but you've got to see this for how it is. Even the Kais know extremely little about the Makaio race…all we know from the glimpses we've seen of demons is that they're dangerous, and apparently more powerful than we realized if they have the ability to resurrect the dead without the aid of dragon balls."

17 scoffed as he turned away from the Namekians. He knew they were right, if Raditz was a threat to the people of Earth then he should be killed, but it still felt wrong to him. The cyborg himself had been such a threat once, it was only fitting that he should sympathize with Raditz's position. He was sure Piccolo understood that as well, after all, he'd been the one trying to kill him.

"Whatever," 17 muttered.

"Go ahead, Dende, have a look."

Dende looked to Piccolo and nodded before turning his attention back to Raditz's soul. In the midst of the circling aura the Saiyan's inner turmoil became increasingly clear as they watched Raditz's last nightmare unfold. Dende swallowed hard as he was hit with the full impact of the warrior's grief upon killing Goku, but the intensity continued growing exponentially as Raditz was suddenly surrounded by the corpses of those he cared for. However, the previous feelings were nothing compared to witnessing Android 17's lifeless body.

An air of sadness overtook the room as they watched the Saiyan barely contain his despair as he reached for 17's hand; his trembling voice cracking as he quietly whispered, _"No…not you too…"_ 17 felt the stinging of tears as the words echoed deep within him, the emotion behind them. He looked to Piccolo, whose face bore a similar expression. They watched the rest of the scene play out as Raditz found himself brutally slaughtered by the demon. Following the conclusion of the dream, Dende clapped his hands together, causing Raditz's soul to dissipate back into his body. The rings began to slowly fade as Raditz fell to the floor, still unconscious. Dende turned to Piccolo and 17, his cheeks streaked as he exhaled sharply in an attempt to regain his composure.

"By manifesting the soul and accessing these memories, Dende feels every emotion felt by Raditz, doesn't he?" 17 asked as the Namekian wiped his cheeks.

Piccolo nodded as he crossed his arms. "With the same intensity as well."

Dende smiled sadly as he rubbed his hands together. "While the demonic force is certainly powerful, it appears Raditz's stubbornness is even more so. While he definitely seeks to become as strong as Goku and Vegeta, if not stronger, it's more out of a deep-seeded longing to be seen as an equal rather than a desire to kill them. The Saiyan is lost; a warrior without a cause, but he's trying to find answers, both within himself, as well as around him. While he may be a little rough around the edges, Raditz seeks no quarrel with Earth or its people."

Piccolo sighed. "That's all well and good, but can the demon return him to his less 'loving' state?"

"We can't know for sure, all I can say is that right now, Raditz is innocent. I can't allow you to harm him."

Piccolo frowned deeply. "You do realize that he's a ticking time-bomb, right?"

Dende grimaced. "I know better than you how he is, and what he isn't is a threat, at least not at the present. I'm going to allow him to remain here and train if he so wishes. Should this demonic force find a way to infiltrate our dimension, we'll need all the help we can get; he could prove invaluable."

"And if _he's_ the vessel for such an attack?"

Dende looked back at the unconscious Saiyan and frowned. "Then it would be Goku's responsibility to kill him…not ours."

17 knelt beside Raditz and smirked. "Look at you, impressing God. Who would've thought?"

Lifting the tall Saiyan over his shoulder, 17 couldn't help but sigh in relief as he carried him to the exit just behind the others. Had there been an obvious corruption in Raditz's soul, he wouldn't have made it out of that room alive. The very thought caused 17 to sneer. He didn't know who the demon was, but if he had the chance, he'd gut the bastard for attempting to turn Raditz back to his old ways. It reminded 17 too much of the programing forced into him by Gero…and it caused his body's physical augmentations to ache with hatred.


	15. Sands of Time

As he stood on the edge of Kami's lookout, Raditz glared with loathing at the horizon; his hair whipping around his shoulders from the near constant heavy breeze. It had only been an hour ago that Raditz learned the cold hard truth from Android 17 about his revival, and with that knowledge came shame in his every breath. He was being used _again_ , but what made this fact even worse was that he owed his very life to this mysterious sadist, and he hated it. He felt the blood racing in his temples as he furrowed his brow in disgust. Ever since he could remember he'd been a pawn; someone's little toy soldier. Whether it be Vegeta's or Frieza's was of little consequence, he'd been the one blindly marching to his superior's drum into damnation. Raditz closed his hand tightly as he quietly whispered to himself.

"Not again…"

Looking down at the minuscule green dots that made up the dense forest below, for a brief moment, the Saiyan contemplated ending it all before it even began. Though Dende believed he deserved to be spared, he wasn't so convinced. Raditz himself was a testament to the overwhelming powers the Makaio possessed, and he knew only a fool would think they were invulnerable to such influence, willingly or otherwise. He wondered if he just let himself slip from the edge, if he could somehow manage to resist the urge to fly and let death take him, would they be safe from the demonic threat? As the striped bronze toe of his boot skirted the marble edge of the floating temple, Raditz ran his hands through his hair in confusion at the thought. What sort of behavior was this for a Saiyan warrior? While self-sacrifice seemed to go hand-in-hand with their people's ideology, it was in the glory of battle, not plummeting from some building, be it godly or otherwise. He swiftly put it out of his mind and quickly turned away from the edge only to find himself face to face with Piccolo.

"And what the hell do you want?" Raditz growled, still perturbed by his sudden suicidal inclination.

Piccolo's face remained stoic as he gazed deep into Raditz's eyes, the feelings behind the expression were genuine, not layered beneath a heap of posturing or bravado as with their usual encounters.

"A weaker man would've done it."

"Done what? Stare at the clouds?!" Raditz recoiled, embarrassed by his true intentions.

"Whether you admit it or not, we both know what crossed your mind just now, and you made the right call."

Raditz's eyes darkened as he started walking past Piccolo before momentarily halting.

"Would you have interfered?" he asked quietly over his broad shoulder.

"Naturally," Piccolo replied, grinning slightly.

"Good," Raditz whispered as he then continued the walk back to the palace to find 17. Piccolo stood, contemplating the ramifications of the Saiyan's words for a moment before following suit, his white cloak fluttering behind him in the breeze.

* * *

The group stood in surprise as a yellow Capsule Corp aircraft swooped in to land on top of the lookout. Shortly after Raditz and Piccolo had reached the others, Bulma's plane bolted through the middle of the lines of trees, her tires beginning to smoke as they screeched against the surface of tiles beneath them. Raditz's eyes widened with surprise as the teal-tinted metallic glass cockpit stopped just a few inches short of his nose before coming to rest; his expression one of disbelief rather than fear at the size of the blue-haired woman's apparently massive ovaries. As Bulma dropped from the access hatch hidden within the belly of the ship, Raditz couldn't help but grin slightly. Only someone as bold as her could handle being with Prince Vegeta for longer than a fortnight.

"Sorry about that, these newer models are a little faster than the ones I'm used to piloting," Bulma remarked as she took notice of the look on Raditz's face.

Raditz looked to 17, who continued leaning against one of the large pillars of the lookout's palace with his thumbs causally tucked in the front pocket of his jeans. The cyborg was the only one of the group to look almost disinterested at the high-speed landing. It made the Saiyan ponder the insanity that would ensue should 17 ever find himself behind the controls of a similarly-equipped vehicle.

"What kept you?" 17 asked, somewhat annoyed at the scientist's tardiness.

"Last minute adjustments to the tech. Trust me, the wait was well worth it. Come here and check it out."

Dende and Piccolo turned to one another and shrugged as Raditz and 17 followed Bulma past her aircraft. Bulma then withdrew a small red capsule from the breast pocket of her sleek leather jacket and tossed it onto the ground nearby. As the resulting massive cloud of smoke finally dissipated, they were greeted by an enormous domed structure riddled with flashing lights and screens along its corrugated metallic frame.

"17 was telling me about your training needs, and it reminded me of the Gravity Room I designed for Vegeta a few years ago back home. I fiddled with the design a bit, and now it can go even higher than the original, which is saying a lot. Do you know how intense it is for these machines to sustain such a crushing environment, even momentarily? I had to use alloys only found in deep space just to be able to handle it."

Raditz walked up to the machine and began examining its interface. He clicked through the various menus until he started grinning like a mad man.

"You've invented a machine that can multiply gravity by 500 times?!" he exclaimed, thrilled by the idea.

"Yup yup, and best of all, it uses its own excess energy to keep the batteries charged and ready for ridiculous amounts of time! We just unrolled that tech this year at Capsule Corp, that's why we had reporters up the wazoo when 17 first came to see me."

"So what kind of charge are we talking about it holding?" 17 asked, curious himself.

"Well, it's not indefinite yet, but I'd say it should work for…about a year or two before it needs recharging, and that's saying a lot considering how much energy this baby gulps down! Imagine Yajirobe, but useful and a machine."

17 turned to Dende, who nodded knowingly.

"There's one more thing," 17 said as he looked to Raditz. "My family's returning tomorrow, which is going to end our training together, but there's still a few more things I can do to help you develop your powers…our only issue would've been time."

Raditz cocked an eyebrow. "Would've been?"

17 grinned. "Dende's allowed us access into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"What the hell is that?" Raditz asked.

"It's a room in another dimension where time passes at a much slower rate."

"How much slower are we talking here?" Raditz pondered, intrigued. He would've been skeptical, but after the incident with his soul, he'd pretty much resigned his disbelief at this point.

"Well, a day here is the equivalent of a year there, so there's that."

Raditz stepped back, shocked. "You're joking!"

"Nope, no joke. That was how Goku and the others leveled up so quickly before they fought Cell. So, what do you say? Feel like giving this grav-o-tron thing a test run with yours truly for a year?"

Raditz smirked before extending an arm towards the palace entrance. "After you."

After returning the device to its capsule and handing it to Raditz, Bulma and the others followed Dende to the entrance of the chamber, the large ornate brown door causing Raditz to beam with anticipation. With the advancements he could make using this time room, there would be little he'd have left to fear, especially some dinky demon's foolish plans. Raditz chuckled as he looked over at 17, who returned the smile. With what they'd been able to accomplish together in a week in terms of multiplying his strength, he may be able to even hang with Kakarot in a fight by the time they've finished, or at the very least Gohan. Raditz lavished the thought of once more being on par with his relatives.

"The supply of food and clean water has been fully stocked; also, the gateway has been reinforced to withstand most ki attacks after Piccolo's little incident with Majin Buu." Dende grinned as he glanced over to a blushing Piccolo, who looked away from the God. "Just be sure to manage your mind as much as your body when you enter the chamber, its vast expanse of nothingness can be very overpowering…even to a Saiyan."

"Oh, and Goku said he'd stop by tomorrow when you guys finish up so he can see your progression! He seemed pretty excited to see how your gravity training turns out!" Bulma chirped.

17 smirked as Dende gripped the shiny golden door latch, his own adrenaline starting to kick in. Before Raditz showed up, he'd long forgotten the thrill he'd gotten from fighting. After returning to life following Cell's final defeat, he felt almost inept compared to the likes of Gohan and Vegeta despite himself still being one of the strongest beings on Earth. Although the focus of their training was on improving Raditz, 17 happily welcomed the idea of increasing his own skills right alongside him, even though he knew such an increase wouldn't be nearly as dramatic as his Saiyan counterpart. Still, 17 couldn't help but imagine the prospect of Raditz rising to his own power level…then the two could really start having a little fun.

The bright white light was almost blinding as Dende fully opened the door leading to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. This didn't dissuade Raditz in the least however, who quickly made his way through the doorway. 17 turned to the others and waved as he shut the door behind him, leaving the rest of the group only to speculate on the two warriors' progression.

* * *

Raditz cocked his head slightly as he peered off into the expanse of nothingness that surrounded their small outpost. The outpost was styled in a similar manner to Dende's palace, only on a much smaller scale. Two massive hourglasses stood on either side of the building; their remaining time represented by the slow fall of the tiny granules of sand. Atop the golden domed ceiling hung a standard analog clock, which was a nice addition as Raditz was sure that there was no way in hell either of them would be able to keep up with 24 hour days otherwise. He and 17 explored the inside of the tiny structure, finding only a lip in the wall containing a dresser and a two beds draped in velvet curtains, along with a set of showers, a table, and food stores in the adjoining rooms. 17 opened one of the wooden dressers and found an old, neatly folded orange gi along with a few unworn sets of a similar size.

"I guess these are leftovers from the previous guests," 17 muttered as he examined the clothes. "Good thing they're close to my size. I'd hate to come out in a year looking like a hobo."

Raditz tossed the capsule containing his spare sets of armor into the open drawer and sat on one of the beds, his eyes momentarily shifting to the eternal whiteness encircling them as 17 changed into one of the spare outfits before carefully putting away his own clothes. Raditz looked back to 17 and chuckled. His groomed hairstyle clashed hard with Kakarot's old gi.

"What's so funny?" 17 asked, annoyed.

"Oh nothing, _sensei_. Just waiting on you to finish checking yourself in the mirror before we get this party started."

17 grinned cruelly as he furrowed his brow. "Ready when you are, _Radish_ …I'm starting to look forward to kicking your ass."


	16. A Golden Hue

As he slid into the remains of his only surviving piece of armor, Raditz grinned. The chest piece had certainly seen better days, cracks jutted along the white grooves into an odd lightning pattern along the belly plating. Even with the many missing chunks of the patchwork armor, he still enjoyed the comforting grip of his one remaining shoulder strap along the side of his muscular trapezoid. Rolling his neck, Raditz breathed in a sigh of pleasure at the loud cracks that followed, the action causing his fully regrown hair to whip about behind him. He and Android 17 were preparing to exit the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, their year of intense gravity training and combat now coming to an end.

With the Gravity Room returned to its capsule, and their training concluded, all that was left to do was to finish getting dressed and wait. They both occasionally glanced at the small gold-adorned analog clock that hung just above the room's interdimensional exit, which counted down the few remaining minutes until the seal's release. 17, having just finished stripping off the shredded orange turtle hermit gi, began riffling through the drawer by his bed and gathered his clothes together. As he slid into his distressed jeans he whistled loudly, pulling Raditz from his wandering thoughts.

"What's up?" Raditz asked, his eye wincing slightly as 17 zipped up his pants with his free hand. He had no idea why Earthlings would put metal teeth anywhere near the crotch of someone's pants. That fear was compounded with the fact that 17's only pair of boxers had exploded during an intense bout in the Gravity Room and he was forced into going commando. Raditz knew one thing for sure, he wasn't getting his member anywhere near the copper-toned guillotine, undies or not. He may be a warrior, but he wasn't a masochist.

17, unsure of why Raditz kept starring at his crotch and twitching, simply shrugged the question off before grabbing the Saiyan's coveted red bands from within the drawer and tossing them to him. After slinging his bandana and green socks onto his bare shoulder, 17 noticed Raditz's training bandana and paused. He withdrew the neatly folded article and held it up.

"Hey Radish, you still want to wear this?" 17 asked. "Your training's all finished, after all."

Raditz walked over to the cyborg and snatched the bandana from his grasp before re-affixing it over his red band on his bicep once more, using his teeth to further tighten the cloth.

"It's grown on me," Raditz replied as he flexed the muscle, ensuring the cloth was satisfactorily attached.

17 chuckled as he continued putting on his long-sleeved white undershirt. "That so, huh?"

"Of course, I wouldn't bother wearing it if it hadn't," Raditz stated bluntly as he turned back towards the void, gazing out into the vast space of nothingness. 17 smiled at the sentiment. While the Saiyan often kept his feelings to himself, it was little things like that which spoke volumes.

Resting his forearm on one of the pillars, Raditz smiled sadly. The white expanse surrounding them showed no hint of the many intense battles; it was as if they had never set foot within the mystical dimension. The time spent with the cyborg had ironically been the most peaceful moments he'd had since his resurrection, and looking back on it, the majority of his adulthood. He hadn't had a single nightmare during the year-long training session, and after a few months of progress had been made, Raditz felt able to keep the pervading thoughts of the demon and his intentions from worrying him whatsoever. Inside this sanctuary, his only focus was on growing stronger, and he had by leaps and bounds. His prior fears and worries were washed away with blood and sweat.

Though his new abilities couldn't match Kakarot or Vegeta's seemingly otherworldly strength, Raditz knew he was on the right path to accomplishing the goal. He peered around the side of the pillar and watched as the last few grains of sand slipped through the top of the massive hourglass to the large pile below; as they did so, alarms from the multitude of clocks began sounding off all around them, signaling that their time had reached its conclusion.

17 hastily finished tying the laces of his blue converses before hopping off of the edge of the bed and heading for the doorway, expecting an impatient Raditz to be there waiting. This wasn't the case as the Saiyan finished soaking in their final moments within the mystical chamber. Leaning against the doorframe, he watched as Raditz gently patted one of the large marble columns and headed his way. Raditz's development had surprised even him, but not just in the physical aspect. The manner in which the Saiyan carried himself was completely different than that of the wounded warrior he'd met what seemed like an eternity ago. His stride had grown longer, his expression more resolved, and his head held high. It was apparent with the increase in strength came a much needed boost in pride; it was a heartening change.

17 gripped the gleaming golden handle, pausing momentarily to look back to Raditz.

"You ready?"

Raditz nodded, adjusting his gauntlet. "Ready when you are, tin man."

17 grinned. "Good, then let's not keep our audience waiting."

* * *

The air was heavy with anticipation, as well as uncertainty as the Z-Warriors waited outside of the chamber's entrance for Raditz and Android 17's arrival. Though Dende knew Raditz was uncorrupted by any sort of demonic influence before entering the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he was unsure of how well he'd fared within it. Worried that the spiritual attacks on the Saiyan had possibly increased, or even succeeded in their dastardly objective of corrupting Raditz, at Piccolo's behest Dende asked Vegeta to also make an appearance at the unveiling, alongside his spiky-haired archrival. As Goku and Piccolo pondered the possibilities of Raditz's improvement, Vegeta rolled his eyes and stood on the outskirts of the group; his demeanor, as always, was standoffish.

The prince had been reluctant to adhere to the guardian's request, but he'd be lying if he didn't admit he was also curious at how well the new Gravity Room had worked for the low-class warrior. Vegeta faced away from the others, his eyes closed as he found himself lost in thought. His training alongside Kakarot under the direction of the odd, yet astonishingly powerful being known as Whis had indeed been fruitful. He'd long since followed in the clown's footsteps and attained the mythic 'Super Saiyan God' transformation with the aid of Trunks and Kakarot's brood, along with the form's own Super Saiyan variant, but the training sessions with the odd creature were far too infrequent for his liking, he preferred a more rigorous sort of schedule. Though he'd been attempting to heed Whis' advice of relaxing more often, he still longed to test this new form using his wife's new gravity tech. He raised his brow as he imagined its potential to aid him in his goal of finally surpassing Kakarot…at least for a little while until the slacker could catch up, as he always seemed to do. Though the fact was as asinine as it was infuriating, Vegeta was glad for it. The ever increasing Kakarot gave him the inspiration to continue pushing himself, and reach new levels of greatness. Vegeta's ear twitched as he heard the release of the latch. The mindless chatter of Kakarot and Piccolo ceased as they all turned towards the opening door, unsure as to what would exit the chamber. As Raditz made his appearance just a few steps behind 17, Vegeta smirked. Despite his resting power level being even lower than when he entered, Raditz walked with a newfound swagger worthy of a Saiyan. At least he learned to do _something_ properly in his time spent within the confines of that decrepit room.

"Yo," 17 called out as he casually waved to the group.

"So, the hedgehog and his robot buddy return," Vegeta sneered. "Have fun getting spanked by an android for a year, Raditz?"

17 rolled his eyes as he ignored Vegeta's attitude. He wasn't going to lie, sometimes he missed being the strong villain of his youth. Not often, but occasionally. Raditz grinned as he eyed the Saiyan Prince. "Oh, hello pee-pod, I didn't see you back there. Maybe next time you should stand in the front so I can spot more than just your hair."

"Shut your face," Vegeta muttered, his cheeks slightly blushing as he glared at Raditz.

Goku beamed as he eyed his brother. "Raditz, 17! It's good to see you! How'd it go in there?"

"I'd call it time well spent," 17 replied, tapping his knuckle on Raditz's broken chest plate for dramatic effect. "What do you think, monkey boy?"

Raditz rested his hands on his hips as he smirked. "It was certainly interesting. I'd never have imagined training under such extreme conditions; the addition of that gravity room made it all the more fruitful."

Goku smiled. "That's awesome! I can tell you've definitely gotten greater control over your ki as well, did you pick up any other tricks?"

Raditz turned to 17, who nodded knowingly.

"Follow me and see for yourself, Kakarot," Raditz replied, his words cool and confident. He led the group out of the palace and onto the tiled floors of the Lookout's center.

"Are you ready?" Raditz asked, holding his arms aloft.

Goku and the others nodded, all watching in silence as the Saiyan glared intensely at the ground beneath him. He braced his legs as he squeezed his hands into tight fists. A large vein emerged near his temple as Raditz began powering up, his face intense with concentration. Air began swirling around as a red aura soon encompassed his being.

"His power level is skyrocketing!" Piccolo exclaimed as his heavy turban was blown clear off his head, obliterating the unlucky tile on which it landed. "I didn't think he'd improve _that_ much!"

17 looked back at the Namekian and grinned. "It gets even better."

Raditz began screaming as his efforts intensified, his coarse voice seemingly growing louder along with his ki. Short bursts of sparks began running along various parts of his body as his aura tripled in size, reaching out to the clouds above them. The wind grew even more fiercely as the rows of palm trees surrounding them whipped violently as if caught up in the vortex of a tornado.

It was at that point, the unthinkable happened.

A sudden flash of bright gold blinded them all momentarily, causing them shield their eyes. Raditz's own eyes widened with vigor as his voice cracked, their hue began shifting from dark coal black to a brilliant teal blue. His muscles pulsated and expanded in size as his massive mane started glowing bright yellow, the energy from the transformation causing the ends of his hairs to point upwards like bent spikes. His tail also began changing, its normally brown fur now flashing gold as well. Raditz's screaming ceased as he broke through the barrier and stood proudly, basking in the afterglow of his new form, his body now surrounded by a sparking golden aura and an all too familiar shimmering tune.

Raditz had joined the fabled ranks of the Super Saiyans.

"He's a Super Saiyan?!" Dende exclaimed, astonished.

"That's interesting," Vegeta stated bluntly, impressed by the low-class warrior's rapid advancement. He looked to Goku who grinned enthusiastically. There was no doubt in the prince's mind that he too was shocked by Raditz's unforeseen accomplishment. "I've never seen a Saiyan with their tail intact achieve the legend before…" He pondered the implications of such an act before quickly shrugging off the query. Vegeta knew the Oozaru form was nothing compared to that of a Super Saiyan, much less to a Super Saiyan God; he couldn't see how such an inferior transformation could possibly pose any sort of threat.

Piccolo crossed his arms and grinned as he gathered a stronger sense of Raditz's power level. He'd been left in the dust by Goku and the other Saiyans, but the idea of fighting Raditz, who was so close to his own level was exhilarating. Of course, he had no doubt in his mind that he could win. Much like Frieza's golden form, he seriously doubted Raditz had unlocked the full potential of the transformation. He approached Raditz, his smirk widening. "You've done well, Raditz. I can't say I'm not surprised, but I want to see the full results of all of that work. Care if we test just how well you handle that form?"

Raditz's teal eyes narrowed as he stared down the Namekian, a wicked smirk crossing his face as his blood rushed at the very notion.

"Gladly, green man."

Taking to the air, Raditz followed Piccolo to a meadow, not unlike that of the one they'd faced off in years prior. Dende, forced to stay behind, waved off the others as they followed the two combatants close behind.

* * *

The tall grass blew smoothly in the slight breeze as they landed. Raditz quickly surveyed the area around them, taking note of the large boulders which dotted the landscape. 17, Goku, and Vegeta soon landed close by, watching the intense standoff between the two fighters.

"This should be good," 17 stated.

"I'm sure," Goku replied. "Still, I can't help but wonder if Raditz has bitten off more than he can chew with this fight. He's much stronger, but I don't know if he can handle Piccolo. What do you think, Vegeta?"

The prince scoffed. "A weakling like Raditz versus the Namekian? Pfft, he's sure to lose. Just because he's attained the form doesn't mean the fool knows how to use it properly."

17 laughed cockily as he scratched his nose. "Just wait and see. I taught him a thing or two that might prove useful. Don't forget, I've held my own against Piccolo before."

"We'll see," Vegeta replied shortly, his eyes locked onto Raditz and Piccolo.

Raditz stood unwavering as he stared down his opponent, the golden glow of his aura intensifying.

"Ladies first," he shouted in a mocking coy tone.

Piccolo grinned as he pulled off his weighted cloak and tossed it near the others, as it collided with the ground, it buckled under its mass, creating a small crater. The Namekian growled as he too began charging his ki. Veins throughout his muscular figure became engorged with the sudden burst of energy. A deep purple aura soon surrounded him, flickering wildly like flames in the wind along his body. Small stones and pebbles began shaking with the force of Piccolo's power before rising around him, circling him. Piccolo bared his teeth as the seasoned fighter continued harnessing his ki. Raditz smirked as his golden hair whipped around in the gusts of wind generated by the Namekian's energy. His crossed his arms, waiting patiently for the fight to begin, his mind strangely at ease.

Without warning, Piccolo charged the Saiyan, his clawed green hand extended outward as he roared loudly. Raditz smirked as he sidestepped the attack, quickly countering with a punch of his own. Piccolo snarled as he employed the after image technique to dodge the hit. Reappearing behind Raditz, he fired a plethora of ki blasts, sending Raditz back on the defensive. He quickly swirled around and leapt away from the bright purple attacks, which followed his change in direction. Raditz laughed as he continued dodging each of the oncoming projectiles with ease; skillfully gliding backwards along the grassland as they pummeled the terrain around him. Soon he grew weary of the assault and charged Piccolo head on, deflecting the waves of blasts effortlessly.

Piccolo gritted his teeth as the two began exchanging a furious flurry of punches and kicks, both fighters intuitively blocking the others hits. Piccolo's eyes widened as he saw an opening and slammed his hardest punch into Raditz's cheek, causing him to reel backwards and briefly pause. Raditz gripped Piccolo's wrist tight in his grasp and forced it away as he turned his head back to the Namekian, a large grin crossing his bleeding lip.

Raditz sniggered as he smashed his knee deep into Piccolo's solar plexus, sending him rocketing away into a series of stones, a small cloud of dust rose from his impact. Before the Super Saiyan could even blink, Piccolo was back up, his hands extended outward.

" _Makoshin HA_!" he screamed, sending a large yellow beam hurling towards Raditz at breakneck speed.

Raditz held up his arm and swatted the energy attack away from him, causing it to detonate harmlessly in the sky.

"Damn it!" Piccolo exclaimed, irritated by the Saiyan's newfound skill.

"My turn," Raditz yelled as he held out his right hand. Pink energy began swirling around his palm as a massive ball of ki began forming. "Looks like I finally get to give you your present, green man…sorry it's so late. Just remember what I said to you all those years ago…and keep your eye on the birdie."

Piccolo's eyes widened as he quickly crossed his arms in defense.

" _Saturday Crush_!" Raditz bellowed as he unleashed the attack, sending the ball of energy hurling towards Piccolo. It slammed hard into the Namekian his whole body pushed back from the power of the blast. Piccolo screamed in anger as he felt the attack overpowering him. Quickly channeling his latent energy once more, Piccolo managed to deflect the blast using an attack of his own, sending it to the ground just to his left, where it exploded on impact. He soon found himself howling in pain as he was enveloped in a blinding white light.

Raditz crossed his arms as he attempted to peer through the smoke. He then closed his eyes, deciding to use his senses to track the Namekian rather than relying on his obstructed sight. He gritted his teeth as he leapt backwards, barely avoiding Piccolo's kick. The Namekian glared, his gi tattered as flakes of the charred dark purple fabric fluttered away in clumps, exposing his powerful chest.

"Not bad, Raditz, I'm truly impressed…but I'm not finished yet!"

Raditz frowned deeply as he watched Piccolo's index and middle finger reach the middle of his forehead; the Saiyan knew all too well what was coming next…

" _Special Beam Cannon!"_

Raditz's brow furrowed as the attack headed straight for his abdomen, the same spot it had found purchase the last time they had fought. He steeled himself as the beam grew closer; his breathing slowed as he focused his energy into his palms. He'd be damned if he'd let Piccolo win again. Slamming his outstretched wrists together, Raditz's aura expanded with renewed vigor as he let loose his attack.

 _"Super Double Sunday FIRE!"_

The resulting blast struck with Piccolo's beam, smashing into it with an incredible amount of force. The two energy attacks battled back and forth against one another as Piccolo and Raditz released the last of their reserves. As the two colliding attacks struggled against one another, it became all too clear that whoever would win this exchange would win the battle. Piccolo grimaced as he felt his attack wavering, growing unsure of how much longer he could hold out.

"Go straight to hell!" Raditz screamed, unleashing the full extent of his newfound power with an Oozaru-like roar. Piccolo winced as his beam was engulfed by Raditz's and moved to dodge, but it was too late. The combined power of the beams slammed directly into his chest before exploding in a colossal fireball that nearly encompassed the entirety of the battlefield.

As the smoke cleared, Piccolo lay unmoving in the bottom of a massive crater, dust and debris covering the majority of his body. Raditz sighed in relief at the sight, as the last remnants of his energy soon left him, causing his hair to return to its natural state. He grinned as he saw the defeated warrior stir and quickly slid down the side of the impressive fissure. Piccolo managed to slowly open a blood soaked eye as Raditz knelt down beside him.

"You beat me…bastard." Piccolo grimaced as pain shot throughout his body.

"Yeah, payback's a bitch," Raditz replied as he held out his hand to the fallen warrior.

Piccolo struggled, but managed to clasp his own around it. The Namekian understood what such an offering meant. It was more than just aid, it was a silent truce, a sign of respect from one fighter to another. One which Piccolo felt proud to accept.

"Don't think for a second I'm not getting a rematch," Piccolo grunted, blood leaking down his massive canines and onto his chin.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Raditz chuckled as he pulled the Namekian's muscular arm around his neck and lifted him from the crater and onto the surviving grass.


	17. Rebuilding Bridges

Raditz pensively ran his fingertips along the edge of his chin as he attempted to sort through the sudden influx of emotions rushing sporadically through his mind. Goku stood behind him, his normally goofy demeanor having given way to seriousness as he reached out to Raditz once more with the hope of establishing a connection with his estranged brother. Following Raditz's fight with Piccolo, Vegeta and Android 17 had departed with the bruised Namekian, leaving the Saiyans alone together for the first time since his brother's return to Earth. He'd reiterated his proposal to train Raditz, even going so far as to offer him his grandfather's humble hut as a place to live during the process, but the hero of Earth was met with only silence.

Despite the Saiyan's desire to continue to grow in strength, reservations about trusting Kakarot still lingered in Raditz's thoughts. Was he ready to truly forgive Kakarot's actions all those years ago? More importantly, was he able to forgive himself for his own past misdeeds? Raditz's brow furrowed at the thought as his mind battled his heart, the internal struggle to remain safely on the outskirts of his brother's sphere of influence waning against the overwhelming need to banish such reservations and begin anew. He thought back to his first encounter with 17; the intense feeling of regret had reverberated in his every word as he admitted to Raditz his own shortcomings in regard to his sister:

" _Now I can see how wrong I was, but I'm still too proud to tell her as much, I can't manage to show her how I've changed; how sorry I am."_

Raditz turned to Kakarot, their eyes locking immediately. He swallowed as he clenched his fists, struggling to keep his emotions in check. He hated the fact his brother could affect him this way; he hated feeling weak. Despite such feelings, a question burned in the back of his mind like a forest fire, and he knew if he avoided it, there could never be progression, and he would remain an outsider.

"Brother," Raditz struggled with allowing himself to express the thought as need overrode pride. "You can do many amazing things, seemingly overcome any obstacle, no matter how indomitable, but there's one thing I need to know you can do before we continue. Can you forgive my past transgressions? Can you look on me with pride rather than scorn?"

Goku's eyes widened, surprised by the question.

Raditz sighed; he knew he'd reached the point of no return.

"In the past I've wronged you. I allowed my own fears, my cowardice and insecurity to cloud my judgement and lose sight of the one thing that's most important in this universe: my family. I was so enraptured with what a good soldier would do, what a good Saiyan should do, that I never thought twice about what _I_ should've done. Ideas of what was morally right or wrong were inconsequential so long as Vegeta and Nappa were satisfied. When you're the weakest of your allies, your army, your species, you adapt to levels of behavior that would seem abhorrent otherwise. You learn to be cruel, to lie, to do whatever you have to in order to ensure the success of your mission; your survival, and in doing so, you lose yourself and everything you thought you stood for and by the time you realize what you've done, what you've become, you don't care anymore…but that's no excuse. My father—OUR father—would've never let such trivial things like his class or station come between him and his family, and by doing so, I've forever shamed him with my insolence."

In spite of his compromising admissions, Raditz kept his head held high as he addressed Kakarot; only his cobalt eyes revealed the unbridled power of the emotions behind his words, and even still, Raditz stood strong.

"I've hated you every day since I can remember as I suffered in Hell, not because you killed me, but because for the first time ever, I felt guilt. I listened and grew jealous as you excelled in strength and powers I could never have imagined, and as you showed others far crueler than I could ever be mercy, forgiveness…it made me feel like a monster, forever unworthy of such an act. I knew I didn't deserve it, but I longed for it, and it caused me to despise you even more. Then something changed. As I lay beaten and broken in the Tin-Man's home after you brought me back to this dreaded rock once more, I came to know kindness, strength, and even if he didn't mean to, 17 taught me what it felt like to actually have a brother. It forced me to grow even stronger so you wouldn't see me as some weakling begging for your pity, but an equal seeking redemption."

Raditz held out his hand, hoping against hope his brother would accept it.

Goku said nothing as he shoved the hand away and embraced Raditz tightly.

"I forgive you," he said quietly.

Goku wanted to say so much more than that, he wanted to apologize for failing to save his brother, for considering him beyond redemption, for fearing to one day become him, but he didn't need to; his tears expressed what mere words could never convey, and Raditz knew it.

* * *

As 17 lay atop the roof of his pink 'Lucky Foods' van, he frowned; the normally comforting silence surrounding him seemed louder than a Saiyan's belch. He sat up, causing the aging vehicles shocks to squeak uncomfortably beneath the cyborg's shift in weight. He paid it no mind as his eyes kept darting from the large collection of cumulous clouds hanging overhead to the narrow dirt road leading to his cabin, eagerly awaiting the familiar scraping sound of his hovercars anti-grav couplings against the unruly earthy pathway that signified the return of Azu and his children. He irritably blew a loose piece of his long black hair out of his eyes as he pulled his knees to his chest. Though he played the part of a loner throughout the majority of his life, it was a role he felt was best left retired.

As he heard the sound of heavy boots displacing the leaves behind him, he smirked.

"Raditz, what kept you?" 17 asked, not even bothering to turn around.

"Just talking some things out with Kakarot; how's Piccolo?" Raditz replied nonchalantly as he continued forward to his friend's side.

"He's fine, besides his wounded ego anyway, I dropped him off at the Lookout after we left."

Raditz nodded in approval. "Good to hear, I'd hate to see the green bean out of commission for too long."

17 sniggered, his eyes remaining trained on the pathway.

"So, I take it you're expecting your family back?"

17 smiled widely, for an instant dropping his cool demeanor, "Yeah, anytime now."

The Saiyan put his hands on his hips as he looked up at 17, he'd grown fond of the cyborg during their time together. Raditz wasn't embellishing his feelings about him to Kakarot; he'd become more like a brother than a simple friend long ago, and telling him he was leaving for Kakarot's training was proving an even more difficult task than he imagined.

"I'm glad to hear it," he replied softly.

Raditz hung his head as 17 peered over his shoulder, noticing the shift in his demeanor. They both knew what was coming next, but neither wanted to initiate the conversation.

17 slid from the side of the van, his impact on the ground beneath him causing a light layer of dust to coat his chucks. He slid his hands into the back pockets of his distressed jeans as he eyed his somber looking comrade.

"So, what did Goku have to say?" he asked quietly, though he knew damn well what he said.

"We've made amends, _finally_ ," Raditz replied, "and he made me another offer to train with him."

"I take it you accepted the invitation this time, otherwise you wouldn't look like someone just up and curb stomped your puppy right now."

Raditz chuckled lightly. "Yeah, yeah I took him up on it. I move in tonight."

17 ran his hand through his hair as he nodded. "I'm happy for you, hedgehog, you've earned this." His eyes betrayed his true feelings on the matter.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, tin-man. Kakarot may be the proverbial savior of this world, but don't you dare forget that it was _you_ who saved me. So, thanks."

17 felt his lip slightly quiver as he tried to hold a smirk. "No chick-flick moments, Raditz. Just know you helped me just as much. 18 and I are close again. Hell, even baldy and the kid seem to like me now. I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

Raditz crossed his arms as he let out a small sigh. "So, I guess this is goodbye then."

"I suppose so," 17 replied sadly, holding out his hand to the warrior. "Just remember you always have a place here, no matter what happens."

Raditz smirked as he clasped his own hand around it. "I will."

As Raditz flew away, 17 felt his eyes begin to sting. He sneered as he rubbed them with the underside of his shirt sleeve. "Take care, Raditz," he muttered aloud as he watched the Saiyan disappear into the distance.

Leaping back to his perch atop the van, 17 pursed his lips, feeling smothered by the strange sense of loss. It was never his intention to grow this close to the Saiyan; he honestly wasn't completely sure why Raditz's story had affected him the way it had, or why he allowed him to stay in his home and train under him, but he was happy that he did. He supposed it may have been their similar histories, but maybe it was fate that had brought the Saiyan to him. As 17 reflected on their time together, he heard the sound of a hovercar scraping its way up the driveway towards him, causing him to smile once more.


End file.
